Maryland vs Virginia: which really costs more?
The DC metro spans both, so this comparison decides where a huge number of federal-area workers actually live.
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | Maryland | Virginia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,254,444 | $1,245,772 | $8,671 cheaper in Virginia |
| Car purchase | $141,665 | $142,585 | $920 cheaper in Maryland |
| Wedding | $48,608 | $49,193 | $585 cheaper in Maryland |
| Coffee habit | $26,573 | $26,926 | $353 cheaper in Maryland |
| Car payment or lease | $17,726 | $18,000 | $274 cheaper in Maryland |
| Funeral | $12,195 | $12,384 | $189 cheaper in Maryland |
| Phone plan | $10,504 | $10,666 | $163 cheaper in Maryland |
| Rent | $2,744 | $2,786 | $42 cheaper in Maryland |
| Pet annual cost | $2,501 | $2,535 | $33 cheaper in Maryland |
| Childcare | $1,677 | $1,703 | $26 cheaper in Maryland |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $1,939 | $1,965 | $26 cheaper in Maryland |
| Hotel stay | $1,066 | $1,083 | $17 cheaper in Maryland |
| Weekly groceries | $267 | $278 | $11 cheaper in Maryland |
| Health insurance premium | $686 | $697 | $11 cheaper in Maryland |
| Student loan payment | $610 | $619 | $9 cheaper in Maryland |
| Domestic flight | $500 | $507 | $8 cheaper in Maryland |
| Utilities | $320 | $325 | $5 cheaper in Maryland |
| Car insurance | $252 | $255 | $4 cheaper in Maryland |
| Concert ticket | $221 | $224 | $3 cheaper in Maryland |
| Restaurant dinner | $155 | $157 | $2 cheaper in Maryland |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $108 | $110 | $2 cheaper in Maryland |
| Internet service | $107 | $108 | $2 cheaper in Maryland |
| Gas fill-up | $69 | $70 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Gym membership | $73 | $74 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Haircut | $64 | $65 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Streaming bundle | $73 | $74 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Pizza delivery | $61 | $61 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Food delivery | $58 | $59 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Rideshare trip | $34 | $34 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Soft drinks | $39 | $39 | $1 cheaper in Maryland |
| Bar drink | $17 | $18 | $0 cheaper in Maryland |
| Fast food meal | $19 | $20 | $0 cheaper in Maryland |
| Cigarettes or vape | $15 | $15 | $0 cheaper in Maryland |
Across the 33 categories we can compute for both states, Maryland comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.