Moving to North Carolina from Virginia
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Virginia to North Carolina — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Virginia to North Carolina, you would find that North Carolina is 11.4% cheaper than Virginia. A $75,000 salary in Virginia would need to be roughly $66,400 in North Carolina to maintain the same lifestyle. Virginia Beach and Charlotte are about 290 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to North Carolina? Get a shortlist of towns in North Carolina that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is North Carolina cheaper than Virginia?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 13.9% less
Groceries
pay 2.4% less
Transportation
pay 5.1% less
Housing
pay 15.4% less
Childcare
pay 31.5% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.3% 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.
What salary do you need in North Carolina?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $66,400
To maintain the same standard of living in North Carolina
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 North Carolina cost about 7% less than cities in Virginia.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Virginia and North Carolina 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 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
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though North Carolina leads in adult obesity 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
Virginia generally does better on infrastructure, though North Carolina 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
Virginia performs better than North 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 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 North Carolina vs Virginia
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Richmond | Charlotte |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/32°F (12°/0°C) | 56°/34°F (14°/1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/55°F (26°/13°C) | 79°/56°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/65°F (30°/19°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 61°/39°F (16°/4°C) | 62°/40°F (17°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Richmond | Charlotte |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.6°/-2.1°C) | 51°/30°F (10.4°/-1.3°C) |
| Feb | 51°/31°F (10.7°/-0.8°C) | 55°/33°F (12.8°/0.4°C) |
| Mar | 60°/37°F (15.6°/2.8°C) | 63°/39°F (17.3°/4.1°C) |
| Apr | 70°/46°F (21.3°/7.8°C) | 72°/47°F (22.2°/8.3°C) |
| May | 78°/55°F (25.5°/12.8°C) | 79°/56°F (26.1°/13.2°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.1°C) | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 90°/69°F (32.1°/20.5°C) | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.1°C) |
| Aug | 88°/67°F (30.9°/19.7°C) | 87°/67°F (30.8°/19.6°C) |
| Sep | 81°/60°F (27.3°/15.6°C) | 81°/60°F (27.4°/15.8°C) |
| Oct | 71°/48°F (21.7°/9.1°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) |
| Nov | 61°/39°F (16.3°/4.1°C) | 62°/39°F (16.9°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 51°/31°F (10.4°/-0.3°C) | 53°/32°F (11.6°/-0.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in North Carolina than Virginia?
Generally yes: North Carolina runs about 11% cheaper than Virginia on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to North Carolina?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $16,600 in North Carolina for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is North Carolina safe?
Virginia performs better than North Carolina across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in North Carolina compared to Virginia?
Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though North Carolina leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in North Carolina compared to Virginia?
The average high temperature in Charlotte is 71°F, compared to 70°F in Richmond. Charlotte receives around 41.7 in of rainfall per year, while Richmond gets 43.6 in.
