For instance, Great Falls is one of the most expensive cities in Virginia with a median home value hitting six-figures at $1,212,347. However, Virginia’s capital Richmond has more how to write a check for 900 dollars affordable housing with a median home value of $247,564. When trying to determine what is the cost of living in Virginia, housing costs will be by far your biggest expense.
Alexandria has grocery prices that are 13% higher than the national average. Before you get the keys to your new home, you’ll have to pay closing costs. Once you understand what they cover, they’ll look less overwhelming. Choosing the right mortgage can help make your home buying journey easier and more affordable.
The UpNest platform allows you to compare multiple agents in your area so you can compare reviews, commission rates, previous sales, and more. How could the region both be one of the most expensive places to live while also being one of the most affordable? The answer came down to income; with equally high incomes, most Northern Virginians are able to afford the region’s high housing costs. Like any good researcher, I realized that if we wanted to really examine housing affordability, we had to look at how the condition varied by income level. Niche.com’s list of Best Counties to Live in Virginia, Loudoun also earned an A+ overall grade.
Still, this amounts to thousands of dollars a month, a price most seniors cannot afford. Alexandria’s housing expenses are 105% higher than the national average and the utility prices are 2% lower than the national average. Transportation expenses like bus fares and gas prices are 21% higher than the national average. Which makes sense for bigger cities, seeing as home prices are usually well over 500,000. Arlington is no different, with the median home value landing at $669,400. Since the county is in a more rural part of Virginia, there are a number of public parks and many residents enjoy the combination of forests and farmland.
Alexandria, Virginia’s cost of living is 40% higher than the national average. The cost of living in any area can vary based on factors such as your career, its average salary and the real estate market of that area. PayScale’s Cost of Living Calculator can help you find out more about how your individual needs will factor in when beginning your research to figure out how much it would cost you to relocate. MIT’s Living Wage Calculator puts the average transportation expenditure for a single adult in Virginia at around $5,500 annually. The average cost of gas in North Carolina, per AAA data, was $3.19 per gallon as of early December — slightly cheaper than the national average of $3.32.
Bankrate is compensated in exchange for featured placement of sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. This compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear. Bankrate.com does not include all companies or all available products. Virginia isn’t the cheapest place to live in America, but it’s better than most of California and the most expensive states in the country. In terms of renting, the average rent price for a one-bedroom apartment in Virginia is $1,791.