Moving to Virginia from Kentucky
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Kentucky to Virginia — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Kentucky to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 27.2% more expensive than Kentucky. A $75,000 salary in Kentucky would need to be roughly $95,400 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle. Louisville and Virginia Beach are about 540 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Virginia? Get a shortlist of towns in Virginia that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Virginia cheaper than Kentucky?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 32.1% more
Groceries
pay 20.5% more
Transportation
pay 18.0% more
Housing
pay 38.0% more
Childcare
pay 29.8% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 28.0% 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 → $95,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Kentucky to Virginia.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Kentucky performs better than Virginia 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 Kentucky leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kentucky performs better than Virginia across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Kentucky 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 performs significantly better than Kentucky across all employment & economy metrics.
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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Louisville | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 77°/57°F (25°/14°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/66°F (30°/19°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/40°F (14°/4°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Louisville | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43°/27°F (6.1°/-2.9°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 48°/30°F (8.8°/-1.2°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 58°/38°F (14.4°/3.2°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 69°/47°F (20.4°/8.5°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 85°/66°F (29.6°/18.9°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 89°/70°F (31.5°/21.1°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 88°/69°F (31.3°/20.3°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 82°/60°F (27.5°/15.8°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 70°/49°F (21.2°/9.4°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 58°/40°F (14.4°/4.2°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 46°/30°F (7.7°/-1.1°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Kentucky?
No — Virginia is on average about 27% more expensive than Kentucky. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $23,850 in Virginia on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Virginia safe?
Kentucky performs better than Virginia across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Kentucky?
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Kentucky leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Kentucky?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 68°F in Louisville. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Louisville gets 44.9 in.
