Virginia Beach composite
53.9 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Virginia Beach vs Wildwood
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC and Wildwood-The Villages, FL 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.
- 53.9
- Virginia Beach Life Score
- B
- Virginia Beach grade
- 67.0
- Wildwood Life Score
- A+
- Wildwood grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Virginia Beach scores higher on 4 (wages, rent, childcare, environment) and Wildwood on 3 (cost of living, safety, schools). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
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.
◖ Virginia Beach Wildwood ◗
cost of living
30
98
wages
73
47
rent
51
48
safety
87
91
schools
26
88
childcare
53
46
environment
49
39
Virginia Beach and Wildwood differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Virginia Beach has a cost-of-living index of 97.9 vs Wildwood's 85.4 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $69,292 in Virginia Beach and $63,776 in Wildwood. A 2-bedroom averages $1,287/mo vs $1,328/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Virginia Beach vs Wildwood Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Virginia Beach and Wildwood works out to $492 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Virginia Beach carries the same local purchasing power as $87,220 in Wildwood - the more honest read than the salary headline above, 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 210.3 in FL, with property-crime rates of 1590.1 and 1030.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: VA lists 1,869 public schools at a 13.7:1 student-teacher ratio, while FL lists 4,029 schools at 17.8:1, 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 $10,445/yr in the Virginia Beach area versus $10,505/yr in Wildwood - 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, Virginia Beach and Wildwood 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.
Wildwood composite
67.0 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
10 pts
Virginia Beach cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
4 pts
Wildwood safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach composite (Grade B)
Wildwood
Wildwood composite (Grade A+)
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 | Virginia Beach | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 97.9 | 85.4 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 96.2 |
| Services | 89.6 | 89.0 |
| Rents | 99.8 | 51.7 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Wildwood gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Virginia Beach?
$
Equivalent in Wildwood:
$87,220
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Virginia Beach: 97.9, Wildwood: 85.4, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Virginia Beach | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,121/mo | $1,076/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,139/mo | $1,139/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,287/mo | $1,328/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,790/mo | $1,655/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,159/mo | $1,937/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Virginia Beach | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $69,292 | $63,776 |
| Total Employment | 741,260 | 34,870 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Virginia Beach (VA) | Wildwood (FL) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 222.8 | 210.3 |
| Property Crime | 1590.1 | 1030.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | VA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,869 | 4,029 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.7:1 | 17.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 0.4% | 18.0% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | VA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $10,445/yr | $10,505/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $8,194/yr | $8,611/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,999/yr | $7,983/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | VA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 520 | 864 |
| Water Systems | 1,050 | 1,513 |
| Superfund Sites | 35 | 81 |
| Water Violations | 1,933 | 2,736 |
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 | Virginia Beach | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 41.0 | 40.7 |
| Good Air Days | 78.1% | 77.5% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | N/A |
Wildwood air quality shown at state level. Virginia Beach has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | VA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 13/100 | 9/100 |
| Total Violations | 146,670 | 184,355 |
| Health-Based Violations | 25,642 | 24,266 |
| Systems with Violations | 90.0% | 93.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | VA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 73/100 | 92/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 27.0% | 8.2% |
| HPSA Designations | 440 | 637 |
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 | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 85/100 | 29/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 33.3 | 75.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 34.1 | 72.9 |
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 Virginia Beach more expensive than Wildwood? ▼
Virginia Beach has a cost of living index of 97.9 compared to Wildwood's 85.4 (national average = 100). Virginia Beach is 12.5 points above Wildwood on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Virginia Beach and Wildwood? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,287/mo in Virginia Beach vs $1,328/mo in Wildwood, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,121/mo to $1,076/mo.
How do salaries compare between Virginia Beach and Wildwood? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $69,292 in Virginia Beach and $63,776 in Wildwood, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Virginia Beach has the same purchasing power as $87,220 in Wildwood.
Is Virginia Beach or Wildwood safer? ▼
At the state level, VA has a violent crime rate of 222.8 per 100,000 residents compared to FL's 210.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1590.1 vs 1030.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Virginia Beach and Wildwood? ▼
VA has 1,869 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.7:1, while FL has 4,029 schools at 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 0.4% of VA schools vs 18.0% in FL. 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
Explore more
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