Moving to Northern VirginiaThe 2026 cost of living, taxes and where to live

The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis compares prices across the country each year. In 2024, the Washington metro area, which takes in Northern Virginia, the District and the Maryland suburbs, scored 108.9 for everything together, if the U.S. is 100. Housing scored 151.1. Goods scored 104.8 and other services 102.3, close to the national average.¹¹

So the cost of living question here is a housing question: which county, which home, and the taxes that come with it. That is what the check above works out. Gas, groceries and a night out cost about what they do elsewhere.

Real estate tax is close: Montgomery County’s usual rate is $1.1521 per $100 of value, state tax included, against $1.1535 in Fairfax County. Loudoun’s $0.805 is the lowest in the region; Prince George’s County runs about $1.43.^4,7,8

Income tax is the big gap. Virginia’s top rate is 5.75%, and Virginia counties add none. Maryland’s state rates run up to 6.5%, and Montgomery and Prince George’s each add a 3.2% county income tax, so a $200,000 household pays about $430 a month more than in Virginia.^6,9

Car tax goes the other way. Virginia counties tax cars every year; Maryland’s property tax is on business property, so a family’s cars are not taxed each year. In Fairfax County, a car the county values at $25,000 owes $694.64 a year after state relief, plus the $33 county fee: $1,455 a year for two.^5,10

Put together, the Virginia side usually costs less for the same home and income, and the gap grows with income. If you work in one state and live in another, ask your employer or a tax preparer where your wages are taxed.

Is Northern Virginia a good place to live? For most people who move here, the answer turns on two numbers: the commute and the price. Pick where you will work first, then the budget, then the schools; the school boundary finder shows the assigned schools for any address.

A short ride into D.C. Arlington, the City of Alexandria and Vienna sit on Metro, close in, with small lots: Arlington’s median house lot is 0.16 of an acre.

On the Silver Line, near Dulles. Reston, Herndon and Ashburn have stations, with medians from $879K to $1.19M.

More house for the money. Woodbridge and the City of Manassas have the lowest medians in the table, $610K and $625K, and VRE trains to Union Station.

Land. Great Falls houses sit on a median of 1.72 acres, and Nokesville on 6.89; neither has rail. Every town links to its own page, with prices by zip code and the commute.

Metro. The Silver Line runs from Ashburn past Dulles Airport, Herndon, Reston and Tysons; its extension opened on November 15, 2022. The Orange Line starts at Vienna, the Blue Line at Franconia-Springfield and the Yellow Line at Huntington. Arlington alone has 11 stations.¹³

VRE. Commuter trains run on two lines, from Broad Run (near Manassas) and from Spotsylvania (through Woodbridge), both to Alexandria, Crystal City and Union Station.¹³

Express Lanes. I-495, I-95 and I-395 have toll lanes priced by traffic; carpools of three or more ride free with an E-ZPass Flex. On I-66 inside the Beltway, solo drivers pay a toll in the rush-hour direction.¹⁴ See the traffic guide for the worst stretches by hour.