Moving to Virginia from South Carolina
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from South Carolina to Virginia — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from South Carolina to Virginia, you would find that Virginia is 15.3% more expensive than South Carolina. A $75,000 salary in South Carolina would need to be roughly $82,687 in Virginia to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from South Carolina to Virginia.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $82,687
To maintain the same standard of living in Virginia
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 2.0% more
Groceries
pay 9.7% more
Transportation
pay 20.0% more
Housing
pay 3.9% more
Childcare
pay 39.0% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 23.7% 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.
Key Indicator Comparison
How South 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 South 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
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though South Carolina leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
South Carolina 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
South 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 performs significantly better than South Carolina 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 South Carolina across all family life metrics.
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 | Columbia | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 47°/28°F (8°/-2°C) | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 76°/55°F (24°/13°C) | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/65°F (30°/18°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 55°/36°F (13°/2°C) | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Columbia | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/22°F (4.3°/-5.3°C) | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) |
| Feb | 45°/26°F (7.2°/-3.3°C) | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Mar | 56°/35°F (13.3°/1.7°C) | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) |
| Apr | 67°/46°F (19.3°/7.6°C) | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) |
| May | 75°/55°F (24.0°/12.9°C) | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) |
| Jun | 85°/65°F (29.2°/18.1°C) | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 90°/69°F (32.0°/20.4°C) | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) |
| Aug | 88°/67°F (31.3°/19.6°C) | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) |
| Sep | 80°/58°F (26.6°/14.5°C) | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 68°/47°F (20.0°/8.1°C) | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 55°/37°F (12.7°/2.6°C) | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) |
| Dec | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.8°C) | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Virginia than South Carolina?
Day-to-day costs in Virginia run about 10% higher than South 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 $20,672 in Virginia for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Virginia safe?
Virginia performs significantly better than South Carolina across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Virginia compared to South Carolina?
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though South Carolina leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Virginia compared to South Carolina?
The average high temperature in Richmond is 70°F, compared to 66°F in Columbia. Richmond receives around 43.6 in of rainfall per year, while Columbia gets 46.3 in.
