Harrisonburg composite
47.0 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Harrisonburg vs Virginia Beach
Harrisonburg, VA and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 47.0
- Harrisonburg Life Score
- C+
- Harrisonburg grade
- 57.2
- Virginia Beach Life Score
- B+
- Virginia Beach grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Harrisonburg scores higher on 3 (cost of living, safety, childcare) and Virginia Beach on 4 (wages, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Harrisonburg vs Virginia Beach across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Harrisonburg Virginia Beach ◗
cost of living
44
30
wages
37
73
rent
49
51
safety
80
79
schools
24
25
childcare
54
53
environment
38
94
Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Harrisonburg has a cost-of-living index of 94.9 vs Virginia Beach's 97.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $62,347 in Harrisonburg and $69,292 in Virginia Beach. A 2-bedroom averages $1,322/mo vs $1,287/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Harrisonburg vs Virginia Beach Comparison
Harrisonburg (VA) and Virginia Beach (VA) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 94.9 for Harrisonburg against 97.9 for Virginia Beach, a 3.0-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,322/mo in Harrisonburg and $1,287/mo in Virginia Beach, a $35/mo difference that compounds to $420 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $62,347 across 56,170 jobs in Harrisonburg against $69,292 across 741,260 jobs in Virginia Beach. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Harrisonburg carries the same local purchasing power as $103,213 in Virginia Beach - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 222.8 per 100,000 residents in VA vs 222.8 in VA, with property-crime rates of 1590.1 and 1590.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: VA lists 1,869 public schools at a 13.9:1 student-teacher ratio, while VA lists 1,869 schools at 13.9:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $10,407/yr in the Harrisonburg area versus $10,407/yr in Virginia Beach - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Virginia Beach composite
57.2 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-3.0 pts
Harrisonburg vs Virginia Beach BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$35 /mo
Harrisonburg priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg composite (Grade C+)
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach composite (Grade B+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Harrisonburg | Virginia Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 94.9 | 97.9 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 96.8 |
| Services | 88.5 | 89.6 |
| Rents | 82.3 | 99.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Virginia Beach gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Harrisonburg?
$
Equivalent in Virginia Beach:
$103,213
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Harrisonburg: 94.9, Virginia Beach: 97.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Harrisonburg | Virginia Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,050/mo | $1,121/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,057/mo | $1,139/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,322/mo | $1,287/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,801/mo | $1,790/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,125/mo | $2,159/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Harrisonburg | Virginia Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $62,347 | $69,292 |
| Total Employment | 56,170 | 741,260 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Harrisonburg (VA) | Virginia Beach (VA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 222.8 | 222.8 |
| Property Crime | 1590.1 | 1590.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | VA | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,869 | 1,869 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.9:1 | 13.9:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.4% | 0.4% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | VA | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $10,407/yr | $10,407/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $8,169/yr | $8,169/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,975/yr | $7,975/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | VA | VA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 512 | 512 |
| Water Systems | 1,054 | 1,054 |
| Superfund Sites | 35 | 35 |
| Water Violations | 1,855 | 1,855 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Harrisonburg | Virginia Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 41.0 |
| Good Air Days | 77.3% | 73.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | VA | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 13/100 | 13/100 |
| Total Violations | 146,670 | 146,670 |
| Health-Based Violations | 25,642 | 25,642 |
| Systems with Violations | 90.0% | 90.0% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | VA | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 439 | 439 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | VA | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 85/100 | 85/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 33.3 | 33.3 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 34.1 | 34.1 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Harrisonburg more expensive than Virginia Beach? ▼
Harrisonburg has a cost of living index of 94.9 compared to Virginia Beach's 97.9 (national average = 100). Virginia Beach is 3.0 points above Harrisonburg on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,322/mo in Harrisonburg vs $1,287/mo in Virginia Beach, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,050/mo to $1,121/mo.
How do salaries compare between Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $62,347 in Harrisonburg and $69,292 in Virginia Beach, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Harrisonburg has the same purchasing power as $103,213 in Virginia Beach.
Is Harrisonburg or Virginia Beach safer? ▼
At the state level, VA has a violent crime rate of 222.8 per 100,000 residents compared to VA's 222.8 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1590.1 vs 1590.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach? ▼
VA has 1,869 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.9:1, while VA has 1,869 schools at 13.9:1. Charter schools make up 0.4% of VA schools vs 0.4% in VA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial