Is Virginia a Great Place to Live?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#1

1st out of 50 states overall.

Among the best in the country for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#30

30th cheapest state, about average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $75,000 here.

How we measure cost ›

Virginia ranks 1st of 50 states for overall quality of life and 30th for affordability. It does best on climate, education, and safety, and struggles most with healthcare, air quality, and cost. A typical household earns about $91,500 a year, and the cost of living runs about average.

Why Virginia ranks #1 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Virginia scores on each, best to worst.

Climate
#4 of 50
Education
#5 of 50
Safety
#12 of 50
Economy
#12 of 50
Walkability
#15 of 50
Dog friendly
#15 of 50
Green space
#21 of 50
Healthcare
#22 of 50
Air quality
#22 of 50
Cost of living
#30 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Virginia at a glance

Typical household income

$91,500

9th highest

Typical home price

$396,000

19th highest

Overall cost of living

average

30th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 9%

16th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 28 min

one way

Taxes in Virginia

See your real Virginia take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Virginia taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.