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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dive into Newport News's numbers: cost index 99 — we had to double-check this one — (13 points below national average), rent $1,596/month, income $66,718, and a home price of $287,123. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 91, while Healthcare runs 102. With 183…
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newport News | 99 | $1,596 | Details |
| 2 | Hampton | 98 | $1,587 | Details |
| 3 | Norfolk | 101 | $1,696 | Details |
| 4 | Richmond | 102 | $1,574 | Details |
| 5 | Virginia Beach | 110 | $1,953 | Details |
| 6 | Chesapeake | 111 | $2,002 | Details |
| 7 | Alexandria | 126 | $2,223 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Newport News — cost index 99, rent $1,596/mo, income $66,718
Newport News rent up 7% over the past year
Family-weighted scoring: income $66,718, healthcare index 102, population 183,118 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Dive into Newport News's numbers: cost index 99 — we had to double-check this one — (13 points below national average), rent $1,596/month, income $66,718, and a home price of $287,123. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 91, while Healthcare runs 102. With 183,118 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Our family scoring model prioritizes four dimensions: household income above $60K (supporting a family-sized budget), cost index under 100 (keeping daily expenses manageable), healthcare index under 110 (critical for pediatric care and family premiums), and population above 200K (ensuring access to quality schools and youth programs). Newport News leads because it scores across all four. Hampton and Norfolk follow with even better healthcare costs.
In plain English: Families relocating within Virginia face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. No major red flags in that number. We ran the numbers on 7 cities. Newport News — index 99 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — , rent $1,596/mo, healthcare index 102 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
It's a strong position — but not without footnotes. Virginia — DC suburbs drive costs; the rest stays affordable. The 7 cities we track here average a cost index of 107 and median income of $79,954. It lands right near the national baseline, which makes the differences between individual cities all the more important. The typical rent runs $1,804/month, which is $91 less than the national median.
You don't need to read between the lines. The lines say it all: Newport News rent up 7% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Newport News has increased from $1,490 to $1,596/mo over the past 12 months — a 7% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. At this level, the city practically pays for your move.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
183,118 residents · Virginia
Why Newport News ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 99 on the cost index, residents save roughly 13% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,596/month while the median household pulls in $66,718/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 91, though Healthcare (102) lags behind. Home prices average $287,123 — $180,247 below the national median.
137,098 residents · Virginia
Why Hampton ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 98 on the cost index, residents save roughly 14% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,587/month while the median household pulls in $67,758/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 90, though Healthcare (101) lags behind. Home prices average $272,161 — $195,209 below the national median.
230,930 residents · Virginia
Dive into Norfolk's numbers: cost index 101 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (11 points below national average), rent $1,696/month, income $64,017, and a home price of $302,742. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 93, while Healthcare runs 104. With 230,930 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
229,247 residents · Virginia
Dive into Richmond's numbers: cost index 102 — for better or worse — (10 points below national average), rent $1,574/month, income $62,671, and a home price of $361,133. And roughly speaking, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 94, while Healthcare runs 105. With 229,247 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
453,649 residents · Virginia
Look, Virginia Beach earns its position at #5 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 110 cost index sits 2 points below the national baseline, and the $90,685 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $418,508 — $48,862 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Utilities leads the way at 102, while Housing trails at 126.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to families. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Virginia by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Newport News ranks #1 in Virginia for this analysis with a cost index of 99 and median income of $66,718.
Newport News scores highest for families due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,596/mo, and competitive median income of $66,718.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Newport News (ranked #1) has a cost index of 99 and rent of $1,596/mo, while Alexandria (ranked #7) has a cost index of 126 and rent of $2,223/mo — a 27-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Newport News is $1,596/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $299 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Newport News is $287,123, which is 4.3× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Virginia has a 5.75% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 5.77%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.75%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.