Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Richmond's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Richmond?
Your $100,000 in Richmond has the same purchasing power as $102,386 in the average US city. You'd need $2,386 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Richmond's cost index of 98, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Richmond? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: air quality you don't have to think about and short commutes are the local norm, plus 1 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Richmond's air quality index averages about 37 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Richmond is about 22 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
44% of adults 25 and over in Richmond hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Richmond's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Richmond gets a handful of meaningful snow days each year. Winters average about 30°F — cold enough for several inches at a time, warm enough for everything to melt between storms.
Cold but workable. Winter in Richmond averages about 30°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Richmond runs about 88°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Richmond falls in roughly USDA Zone 8. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Richmond sits at about 92 feet (28 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Hurricane season covers June through November, with peak activity in late summer and early fall. For Richmond, the practical advice is: have a few days of water and supplies on hand from August onward, know your evacuation route, and don't wait for the news to tell you a storm is "probably nothing" — track the cone yourself.
Average for an American city. Richmond's reported crime rate of about 3,817 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Richmond's cost-of-living index is 98, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Richmond is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 0 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Transit Score is 26 out of 100. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $68,369 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Richmond runs about $1,227/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.