Moving to Maryland from Virginia
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Virginia to Maryland — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Virginia to Maryland, you would find that Maryland is 0.6% more expensive than Virginia. A $75,000 salary in Virginia would need to be roughly $74,294 in Maryland to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Virginia to Maryland.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $74,294
To maintain the same standard of living in Maryland
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 7.5% less
Groceries
pay 2.7% more
Transportation
pay 4.4% more
Housing
pay 3.4% less
Childcare
pay 7.7% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.8% 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.
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 Maryland cost about 4% more than cities in Virginia.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Virginia and Maryland 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 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 significantly 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
Virginia generally does better on infrastructure, though Maryland 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
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
Virginia generally does better on family life, though Maryland leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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 | Richmond | Annapolis |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) | 50°/33°F (10°/0°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) | 77°/57°F (25°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) | 86°/69°F (30°/20°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) | 59°/42°F (15°/6°C) |
View all months
| Month | Richmond | Annapolis |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) | 44°/29°F (6.9°/-1.6°C) |
| Feb | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) | 48°/31°F (9.0°/-0.5°C) |
| Mar | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) | 57°/38°F (13.7°/3.5°C) |
| Apr | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) | 68°/47°F (20.1°/8.6°C) |
| May | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) | 77°/57°F (25.0°/13.7°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.2°C) |
| Jul | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) | 89°/71°F (31.9°/21.9°C) |
| Aug | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) | 87°/71°F (30.8°/21.4°C) |
| Sep | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) | 81°/64°F (27.2°/17.6°C) |
| Oct | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) | 69°/52°F (20.7°/10.9°C) |
| Nov | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) | 59°/42°F (14.9°/5.3°C) |
| Dec | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) | 48°/33°F (9.1°/0.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Maryland than Virginia?
Headline costs are within a few percent between Maryland and Virginia; rent and dining are where you'll actually feel differences.
How much money do I need to move to Maryland?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,574 in Maryland for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Maryland safe?
Virginia performs better than Maryland across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Maryland compared to Virginia?
Maryland performs significantly better than Virginia across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Maryland compared to Virginia?
The average high temperature in Annapolis is 68°F, compared to 70°F in Richmond. Annapolis receives around 47.3 in of rainfall per year, while Richmond gets 43.6 in.
