Moving to Virginia from Kansas
What to Expect
Considering a move from Kansas to Virginia? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Kansas to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 27.4% more expensive than Kansas. A $75,000 salary in Kansas would need to be roughly $95,600 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle. Wichita and Virginia Beach are about 1,150 mi apart.
Is Virginia cheaper than Kansas?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 19.4% more
Groceries
pay 13.6% more
Transportation
pay 20.2% more
Housing
pay 39.8% more
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.1% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Virginia?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $95,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Virginia cost about 32% more than cities in Kansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Virginia compared to Kansas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Virginia performs significantly better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Virginia leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Kansas generally does better on infrastructure, though Virginia leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Virginia generally does better on employment & economy, though Kansas leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Virginia performs significantly better than Kansas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Virginia vs Kansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Wichita | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Wichita | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Kansas?
On average Virginia is around 27% pricier than Kansas, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
Budget about $23,900 for 3 months in Virginia (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Virginia safe?
Virginia performs significantly better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Kansas?
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kansas leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Kansas?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 68°F in Wichita. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Wichita gets 32.6 in.
