Moving to Virginia from North Carolina
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from North Carolina to Virginia — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from North Carolina to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 12.9% more expensive than North Carolina. A $75,000 salary in North Carolina would need to be roughly $84,700 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle. Charlotte and Virginia Beach are about 290 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 North Carolina?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 16.2% more
Groceries
pay 2.4% more
Transportation
pay 5.4% more
Housing
pay 18.2% more
Childcare
pay 46.1% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.7% 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 → $84,700
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 8% more than cities in North Carolina.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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
North Carolina generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
North Carolina 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
North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Charlotte | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/34°F (14°/1°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/56°F (26°/13°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/65°F (30°/18°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/40°F (17°/4°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Charlotte | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51°/30°F (10.4°/-1.3°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 55°/33°F (12.8°/0.4°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 63°/39°F (17.3°/4.1°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 72°/47°F (22.2°/8.3°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 79°/56°F (26.1°/13.2°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.1°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.1°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 87°/67°F (30.8°/19.6°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 81°/60°F (27.4°/15.8°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 62°/39°F (16.9°/4.0°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 53°/32°F (11.6°/-0.1°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than North Carolina?
Day-to-day costs in Virginia run about 13% higher than North Carolina on average; specific cities can swing further.
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 $21,175 in Virginia for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Virginia safe?
Virginia performs significantly better than North Carolina across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to North Carolina?
North Carolina generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to North Carolina?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 71°F in Charlotte. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Charlotte gets 41.7 in.
