Overall
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 98.2
Diff -0.3 RPP
Provo-Orem-Lehi vs Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is 0.3% less expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi.
0.3% less expensive
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC is 0.3% less expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.9 vs 98.2). A $100,000 salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi buys about the same as $99,704 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.2 (Provo-Orem-Lehi) vs 97.9 (Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk)
- $100k in Provo-Orem-Lehi ≈ $99,704 purchasing power in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
- Services drives the gap (+10.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair UT:VA 98.2→97.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE UT × VA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Provo-Orem-Lehi
98.2
Cost Index
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
97.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is 10.9 points higher. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Provo-Orem-Lehi to $99,704 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 96.4
Diff +0.3 RPP
Services
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 78.6
Diff +10.9 RPP
Rents
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 104.1
Diff -4.3 RPP
| Category | Provo-Orem-Lehi | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.2 | 97.9 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.8 | +0.3 |
| Services | 78.6 | 89.6 | +10.9 |
| Rents | 104.1 | 99.8 | -4.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Provo-Orem-Lehi 98.2
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 97.9
Goods
Provo-Orem-Lehi 96.4
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 96.8
Services
Provo-Orem-Lehi 78.6
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 89.6
Rents
Provo-Orem-Lehi 104.1
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 99.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi would need to be in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk for the same purchasing power:
| In Provo-Orem-Lehi | In Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,852 | $-148 |
| $75,000 | $74,778 | $-222 |
| $100,000 | $99,704 | $-296 |
| $150,000 | $149,556 | $-444 |
$ in Provo-Orem-Lehi = in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.2 → 97.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk more expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi?
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is 0.3% less expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi. The overall cost index is 97.9 vs 98.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk equals $100K in Provo-Orem-Lehi?
A $100,000 salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi has the same purchasing power as $99,704 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Provo-Orem-Lehi and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk?
Rents in Provo-Orem-Lehi are indexed at 104.1 while Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is at 99.8 (national average = 100). Provo-Orem-Lehi 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.