Overall
97.9
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Richmond, VA
Cost-of-living indicators for Richmond, VA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 97.9
- Overall RPP
- #116
- of 387 metros
- 99.1
- Rents RPP
- $102K
- $100K national buys
Richmond ranks #116 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk
The verdict
Richmond costs less than 30% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 97.9, 2.1% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 89.2.
- bottom 70%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 89.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $102,189 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $97,858.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$97,858
in Richmond, VA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,929
$75,000 nationally
$73,394
$125,000 nationally
$122,323
$150,000 nationally
$146,787
$200,000 nationally
$195,716
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
25/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
25th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Service-cost relief profile
How Richmond's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Richmond: their index is 89.2, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 97.9 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC, Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL. They resemble Richmond across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Richmond's overall index has stayed within 0.3 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Richmond vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
98 Top 30% higher than 70% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Richmond cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
99.1 RPP
- Services
Services
89.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
97.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.8 RPP
What this shows Richmond's strongest departure is services at 89.2; goods follows at 96.8. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Richmond's cost comes from
Metros near Richmond's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Richmond (Richmond, this metro): goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 99.1
- Virginia Beach: goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 99.8
- Grants Pass: goods RPP 105.3, rents RPP 79.9
- Pensacola: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 98.8
- Hilton Head Island: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 101.2
- Austin: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 120.4
- Carson City: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 101.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.8
Below avg
Services
89.2
Cheap
Rents
99.1
Below avg
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Richmond's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 98.3 in 2023 to 97.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 101.0 to 99.1. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.3 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index jumped 2.1 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Richmond overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.1 |
| 2009 | 97.5 |
| 2010 | 98.6 |
| 2011 | 99.4 |
| 2012 | 98.6 |
| 2013 | 98.3 |
| 2014 | 98.5 |
| 2015 | 98.9 |
| 2016 | 99.3 |
| 2017 | 97.8 |
| 2018 | 97.1 |
| 2019 | 95.2 |
| 2020 | 95.9 |
| 2021 | 98.0 |
| 2022 | 97.6 |
| 2023 | 98.3 |
| 2024 | 97.9 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Richmond, VA's index of 97.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
VA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Richmond, VA toward the bottom of VA's metros
Among the 9 VA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Richmond, VA ranks #1 - the 22nd percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Richmond, VA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 9
22nd percentile in VA
Services prices
#4 of 9
56th percentile in VA
Rent prices
#3 of 9
67th percentile in VA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within VA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Richmond, VA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (97.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (99.1 here).
Other VA Metros
Charlottesville, VA 99.1 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 97.9 Winchester, VA-WV 96.5 Harrisonburg, VA 94.9 Roanoke, VA 93.6 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 92.7
View all VA metros → Cheapest in VA → Most expensive in VA →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Richmond's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.3 · Rents 98.9 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.6 · Rents 99.8 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.5 · Rents 98.8 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.2 · Rents 97.6 Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
Goods 96.2 · Services 91.5 · Rents 98.8 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 88.1 · Rents 101.2
Compare to Other Metros
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Richmond
How to read Richmond's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $102,189 in Richmond. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 89.2, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Richmond head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Richmond, VA?
Richmond, VA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 97.9, meaning it is 2.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.8, services at 89.2, and rents at 99.1. It ranks #116 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Richmond, VA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $97,858 in Richmond, VA. Conversely, $100K earned in Richmond, VA has the purchasing power of $102,189 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Richmond, VA?
Rents in Richmond, VA are indexed at 99.1, which is 0.9% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Richmond, VA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Richmond, VA's overall cost index changed by -0.3 points (from 98.1 to 97.9). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Richmond, VA?
The priciest category in Richmond, VA is rents at 99.1, 0.9% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 89.2, 10.8% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Richmond, VA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, Grants Pass, Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Richmond, VA's 97.9.
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.