Overall
Diff +0.6 RPP
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia vs Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is 0.6% more expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia.
0.6% more expensive
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC is 0.6% more expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.9 vs 97.3). A $100,000 salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia buys about the same as $100,609 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.3 (Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia) vs 97.9 (Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk)
- $100k in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ≈ $100,609 purchasing power in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
- Rents drives the gap (+2.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:VA 97.3→97.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × VA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
97.3
Cost Index
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
97.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents leads the difference, with Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 2.2 points higher than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia corresponds to $100,609 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
Diff +0.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +2.2 RPP
| Category | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.3 | 97.9 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.8 | +0.2 |
| Services | 89.2 | 89.6 | +0.4 |
| Rents | 97.6 | 99.8 | +2.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 97.3
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 97.9
Goods
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 96.6
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 96.8
Services
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 89.2
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 89.6
Rents
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 97.6
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 99.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia would need to be in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk for the same purchasing power:
| In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | In Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,305 | +$305 |
| $75,000 | $75,457 | +$457 |
| $100,000 | $100,609 | +$609 |
| $150,000 | $150,914 | +$914 |
$ in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia = in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.3 → 97.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk more expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is 0.6% more expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. The overall cost index is 97.9 vs 97.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk equals $100K in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?
A $100,000 salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has the same purchasing power as $100,609 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk?
Rents in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia are indexed at 97.6 while Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is at 99.8 (national average = 100). Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.