Atlanta vs Virginia Beach
The short version
- Virginia Beach is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 2% lower than in the Atlanta area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $382,500 in Virginia Beach and $439,600 in Atlanta.
- Households earn more in Virginia Beach ($92,968 vs $85,652 median).
- Atlanta is growing faster: +6.1% since 2020 vs -1.2%.
- Commutes are shorter in Virginia Beach (23 vs 27 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Atlanta, GA | Virginia Beach, VA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 529,110 | 453,737 |
| Growth since 2020 | +6.1% | -1.2% |
| People per square mile | 3,911 | 1,854 |
| Median age | 34.2 | 37.9 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 59% | 41% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $85,652 | $92,968 |
| Median home value | $439,600 | $382,500 |
| Home value to income | 5.1× | 4.1× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,711 | $1,714 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 100.1 | 97.9 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 111.0 | 99.8 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $75,000 | $73,500 |
| Homeowners | 46% | 65% |
| Top state income tax | 5.19% | 5.75% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.56% | 5.77% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 26.5 | 23.4 |
| Work from home | 30% | 14% |
| Take public transit | 6% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 5.9% | 4% |
| Poverty rate | 16.9% | 8.6% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 54° / 36° | 50° / 32° |
| July high / low | 90° / 72° | 87° / 70° |
| Precipitation per year | 50 in | 47 in |
| Snowfall per year | 2 in | 3 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 47 | 32 |
| Nights below freezing | 36 | 50 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 4 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively Low |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 95.8 | 57.9 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 41% | 78% |
| Home prices, past year | +1% | +3.6% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +42.7% | +43.4% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Atlanta: April to May and September to November. Virginia Beach: April to June and October.
Full monthly tables: Atlanta weather by month and Virginia Beach weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $75,000 in Atlanta and $73,500 in Virginia Beach. Moving from Atlanta to Virginia Beach, you would need about $73,400 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Atlanta and Virginia Beach
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Atlanta and Virginia Beach.
Which would you pick?
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