Is Baltimore cheaper than Virginia Beach?

Virginia Beach is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 7% below Baltimore's (BEA Regional Price Parities).

Which has higher household income, Baltimore or Virginia Beach?

Baltimore has the higher median household income — $98,666 versus $82,402 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 20% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Baltimore or Virginia Beach?

A paycheck stretches further in Baltimore. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $94,429 there versus $84,134 in Virginia Beach.

Which has cheaper rent, Baltimore or Virginia Beach?

Virginia Beach has cheaper rent — a median of $1,556/mo versus $1,633/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Baltimore vs Virginia Beach

Metro-area medians — Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area vs Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Virginia Beach comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 10 clearly-decided measures.

Virginia Beach is about 7% cheaper to live in, while Baltimore households earn about 20% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Baltimore.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Baltimore, MD

$57,932

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$55,444

real value after local prices

Virginia Beach, VA

$57,747

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$58,961

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Virginia Beach leaves you about $3,517/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Baltimore

Virginia Beach

Livability (CityLedger)

69/100

58/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

104.5

97.9

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$94,429

$84,134

Median household income

$98,666

$82,402

Median rent

$1,633/mo

$1,556/mo

Median home value

$403,000

$363,400

Unemployment

4.3%

3.8%

Bachelor's degree or higher

45.3%

37%

Average commute

30.3 min

25.5 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

59°F

61°F

Choose Baltimore for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Bachelor's degree or higher

Full Baltimore profile →

Choose Virginia Beach for

+ Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Unemployment
+ Average commute
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Virginia Beach profile →

Baltimore vs Virginia Beach — frequently asked

Is Baltimore cheaper than Virginia Beach?: Virginia Beach is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 7% below Baltimore's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Baltimore or Virginia Beach?: Baltimore has the higher median household income — $98,666 versus $82,402 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 20% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Baltimore or Virginia Beach?: A paycheck stretches further in Baltimore. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $94,429 there versus $84,134 in Virginia Beach.
Which has cheaper rent, Baltimore or Virginia Beach?: Virginia Beach has cheaper rent — a median of $1,556/mo versus $1,633/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).