Your calculator takes into account housing, food, child care, transportation, taxes, other needs, and health care costs. Because of its abundance of amenities and ease of access, Northern Virginia is a great place to live while still enjoying a lower cost of living than major metropolitan areas across the country. With Amazon joining the region's already strong technology sector, and local leaders focused on diversifying the career landscape, the economic forecast for Northern Virginia looks promising for those looking for an even better salary. Counties in each state that ranked as the most expensive to live in tended to have strong economies, low unemployment rates, and higher household incomes, the study found.
Fortunately, here at Apartment List, you can take a closer look at the cost of living in Virginia and better understand what type of budget you'll need to live comfortably. But can you afford to live in the Old Dominion State? To give you a better idea of the costs you'll need to budget for, here's a breakdown of the cost of living in Virginia. The goal, according to Stephanie Landrum, president and CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP), is to create more jobs with a higher average salary so that residents can work and live here. Yes, Outside-the-Beltway County outperforms suburban communities adjacent to San Francisco and the suburban enclaves where New York City commuters normally live, in terms of salary.
You can change the number of adults and children to see exactly what your household needs to earn to live comfortably in your county. In fact, Northern Virginia has not only done well in recent years, but it has just entered a new era of serious boom times (hello, Amazon). Virginia isn't the cheapest place to live in the United States, but it's better than most California and the country's most expensive states. That enormous development will positively affect many workers and businesses in Alexandria, with a smaller but similar ripple effect that will be felt throughout the Northern Virginia region.
It's so expensive to live in Loudoun that even after adjusting the cost of living, it still takes 12 to make ends meet. No matter how much you think a home is perfect for you, if you can't comfortably afford it, it's time to think twice. FAIRFAX, VA While Fairfax City isn't close to being the cheapest place to live in Virginia (far from it), it is in the midrange among northern Virginia counties, according to the Economic Policy Institute.