Moving to Virginia from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
Considering a move from Pennsylvania to Virginia? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 10.4% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $82,800 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and Virginia Beach are about 220 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 Pennsylvania?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 12.8% more
Groceries
pay 11.5% more
Transportation
pay 1.4% less
Housing
pay 16.5% more
Childcare
pay 0.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.6% 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 → $82,800
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 22% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Virginia compared to Pennsylvania.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Pennsylvania generally does better on safety, though Virginia leads in violent crime rate.
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
Pennsylvania generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-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 Pennsylvania?
On average Virginia is around 10% pricier than Pennsylvania, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Virginia?
Budget about $20,700 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?
Pennsylvania generally does better on safety, though Virginia leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Virginia leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
