Moving to Virginia from Maryland
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Maryland to Virginia — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Maryland to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 0.0% more expensive than Maryland. A $75,000 salary in Maryland would need to be roughly $75,713 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Maryland to Virginia.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $75,713
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 8.2% more
Groceries
pay 2.2% less
Transportation
pay 3.3% less
Housing
pay 4.3% more
Childcare
pay 7.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.2% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
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 4% less than cities in Maryland.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Maryland and Virginia stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Virginia performs significantly better than Maryland 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
Maryland performs better than Virginia across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Virginia generally does better on what about housing?, though Maryland leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Maryland generally does better on infrastructure, though Virginia leads in average commute.
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
Maryland generally does better on employment & economy, though Virginia leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Maryland generally does better on family life, though Virginia leads in life expectancy.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Annapolis | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 50°/33°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°/69°F (30°/20°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 59°/42°F (15°/6°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Annapolis | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44°/29°F (6.9°/-1.6°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 48°/31°F (9.0°/-0.5°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 57°/38°F (13.7°/3.5°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 68°/47°F (20.1°/8.6°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 77°/57°F (25.0°/13.7°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.2°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 89°/71°F (31.9°/21.9°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 87°/71°F (30.8°/21.4°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 81°/64°F (27.2°/17.6°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 69°/52°F (20.7°/10.9°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 59°/42°F (14.9°/5.3°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 48°/33°F (9.1°/0.4°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than Maryland?
Headline costs are within a few percent between Virginia and Maryland; rent and dining are where you'll actually feel differences.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,928 in Virginia for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Virginia safe?
Virginia performs significantly better than Maryland across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Maryland?
Maryland performs better than Virginia across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Maryland?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 68°F in Annapolis. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Annapolis gets 47.3 in.
