Cost of Living in Reston, VA

An Overview of Cost of Living in Reston, VA

Knowing the cost of living in Reston allows individuals to create a realistic budget. This helps them understand how their income will cover expenses and whether they need to make financial adjustments. The cost of living in any region can fluctuate due to various factors. To assess the cost of living consistently across different areas, a national average of 100 serves as the basis for the cost of living index. The cost of living in Reston stands at 151, marking it 51% higher than the national average.

If you're in pursuit of an economical living environment, Reston may not fit the bill, as it ranks among the most expensive places to reside in the United States. Just a minority of regions exhibit a cost of living that is more than 20% higher than the national average, and, unfortunately, Reston falls within this bracket.

Housing costs make up a big chunk of the cost of living in Reston, and they usually eat into a large part of your take-home pay. Unfortunately, in this area, both buying a home and renting one costs 154.9% more than the average city. This includes stuff like home prices, rent, mortgage rates, and insurance.

Is Reston Affordable?

Is Reston affordable? This is a pivotal question, especially when mulling over a move, as affordability carries substantial weight in your decision-making process. Factors such as the cost of living index (discussed earlier), housing expenses and income levels all contribute to a location's affordability. For instance, in Reston, the median home price is 178.5% higher than the national average and monthly rent prices are 100% higher than the typical rates. Additionally, the median income levels play a role in affordability, with Reston boasting a median household income of $121,563, 119.7% higher than the national average.

What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in Reston?

Groceries: Grocery prices have seen substantial hikes in the last 2-3 years, with some markets witnessing food cost increases of over 20% during this period. Conversely, certain markets have experienced only moderate upticks. These variations in food expenses can have a substantial impact on the overall cost of living in any locality. In Reston, the groceries index is 8.3% higher than the national average.

Healthcare: The costs associated with healthcare and insurance premiums can exhibit notable disparities based on the city or state of residence. Access to healthcare facilities, out-of-pocket expenses for medical appointments, dental care charges, prescription medication costs and specialized medical care expenses all contribute to variations in the cost of living. In Reston, healthcare costs are 2.8% lower than the national average.

Subsidies: Some areas might offer government subsidies or assistance programs that help lower cost of living for residents. These programs can include anything from Medicare, Medicaid, housing subsidies, low-income home energy assistance programs, school lunch programs, supplemental nutrition assistance programs, student loans, electric vehicle tax credits, affordable care act subsidies and crop subsidies. Areas that offer less subsidies, could see an increase in their cost of living.

Where is the Data From?

The Reston cost of living data displayed above is derived from the C2ER cost of living index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences in urban areas. The index takes into account data from 300 independent researches, covering more than 60 goods and services across 6 different categories, to create an overall index for each area, with 100 being the average. The C2ER index does not include sales or income tax rates in their data, however AreaVibes does include both income and sales tax rates in the overall cost of living score for each area.