Does Virginia have a state income tax?

Yes — a graduated rate from 2% to 5.75%, not a flat rate and not one of the nine states with no income tax at all.

Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Virginia?

Yes, for most moves. Virginia requires household-goods carriers to hold intrastate Household Goods Carrier authority from DMV Motor Carrier Services for any move of more than 30 miles from where it started within the state — separate from the federal FMCSA authority that governs interstate moves. Confirm a mover's Virginia operating authority (Form OA 150 Certificate) before booking an in-state move.

When is moving season busiest in Virginia?

Summer is the general peak statewide, as it is nationally — but Hampton Roads sees an added spike on top of that: the region's roughly 91,380 active-duty military personnel and the Navy's official PCS peak season (mid-May through August) stack a large wave of military relocations onto the ordinary civilian summer rush specifically around Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

Why are so many people leaving Northern Virginia while Richmond keeps growing?

Regional Census-based estimates show Northern Virginia lost about 22,784 residents to domestic out-migration in 2024 even as the Richmond metro gained about 7,346 — a split analysts connect in part to federal civilian job losses concentrated in Northern Virginia (roughly 23,500 fewer federal civilian jobs statewide through November 2025), which employs a disproportionate share of the region's workforce. Statewide, Virginia's net domestic migration stayed close to flat to slightly positive because Richmond and other metros picked up some of what Northern Virginia lost.

How much does it cost to move within Virginia, e.g. from Virginia Beach to Richmond or Richmond to Arlington?

There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the [moving cost calculator](/moving-calculator) for a number based on your actual home size and distance.

Moving to Virginia: Costs, Routes & What to Know

Last reviewed 2026-08-25 · Next review due 2026-09-25

A typical 3-bedroom move in or out of Virginia runs $1,400-$2,450 locally or $4,200-$6,720 long-distance (national planning ranges). Virginia's migration story is split in two: Northern Virginia is losing residents as federal civilian jobs shrink, while Richmond and other metros are gaining — proximity to DC cuts both ways.

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Virginia at a glance

Virginia is home to roughly 8.88 million residents, with population concentrated in three distinct hubs: Northern Virginia (the state's share of the DC metro, historically the state's economic engine), Hampton Roads on the coast (anchored by Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake, and home to the world's largest naval base), and the Richmond metro around the state capital. Virginia's economy has long been unusually tied to the federal government — a large share of Northern Virginia's workforce is federal employees or federal contractors — which cuts both ways for movers: federal hiring waves have historically pulled people in, and federal downsizing pushes them back out. Virginia levies a graduated individual income tax from 2% to 5.75% (not a flat rate and not one of the nine no-income-tax states). Its five largest independent cities — Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Arlington, Norfolk and Richmond — each function as their own municipal jurisdiction, a Virginia-specific quirk (cities here are independent of the counties that surround them) worth knowing before comparing "city" population figures to other states.

Population: 8,880,107; July 1, 2025
State income tax: Yes
Major metros: Virginia Beach (456,349), Chesapeake (252,583), Arlington (236,254), Norfolk (233,596), Richmond (229,359) — 2024 ACS city population estimates, via [virginia-demographics.com, updated Feb 9, 2026](https://www.virginia-demographics.com/cities_by_population)

graduated rate from 2% (on the first $3,000) to a top rate of 5.75% (income above $17,000); Virginia is not one of the nine states with no income tax. NerdWallet — Virginia State Income Tax (Virginia Tax's own rate-schedule page returned a 404 when fetched directly for this research pass — worth a direct spot-check against tax.virginia.gov before publishing)

Who is moving in and out

Virginia's 2024 ACS state-to-state flows show the state essentially breaking even: about 265,500 people moved in against 263,900 who left, a net gain of roughly 1,600 — one of the closer-to-zero figures of any state. A separate Census Population Estimates vintage (July 2024–June 2025) shows a larger net domestic gain of about 6,268. Underneath the roughly-flat statewide number is a real regional split: Northern Virginia lost about 22,784 residents to domestic out-migration in 2024 even as Richmond's metro gained about 7,346 — a pattern analysts tie in part to federal civilian job losses concentrated in Northern Virginia. Maryland, Florida and North Carolina are consistently both the top source of, and top destination for, Virginia's interstate movers.

Inbound: 265,500
Outbound: 263,900
Net domestic: +1,600

Top origin states

Maryland (25,200)
Florida (24,800)
North Carolina (22,800)

Top destination states

Florida (28,900)
North Carolina (28,400)
Maryland (28,000)

Data year: 2024 ACS state-to-state migration flows (updated May 14, 2026); Census Population Estimates Vintage 2025 (July 2024–June 2025) for the net-domestic-migration rebound figure; Weldon Cooper Center regional data (via Virginia REALTORS, Oct 29, 2025) for the Northern Virginia/Richmond split, also referencing 2024

never invented a figure. Two different, valid Census products report different net-domestic-migration totals for overlapping-but-distinct periods (+1,600 ACS flows for 2024 vs. +6,268 Population Estimates for July 2024–June 2025) — both are shown with their specific methodology and period rather than picking one and hiding the difference. The Northern Virginia (-22,784) / Richmond (+7,346) regional breakdown comes from the Weldon Cooper Center's own dataset as reported secondhand by Virginia REALTORS; it was not independently re-derived from Weldon Cooper's primary release in this pass, and is disclosed as such.

Typical moving costs

These figures are national moving-industry planning ranges scaled by home size, not Virginia-specific pricing — cost data at that level of granularity isn't reliably published for any single state. They use the same underlying benchmarks as MoverQuoteEngine's own moving cost calculator: an hourly local-move rate and a per-pound long-distance rate, scaled by the typical crew time and shipment weight for each home size. A genuinely Virginia-specific range would need to be derived from this state's own priced move corridors, once enough live route pages exist to support that — not attempted in this pass (see `upgrade_note` below).

National planning ranges by home size for local and long-distance moves
Home size	Local	Long-distance
Studio	$600-$1,050	$1,250-$2,000
1 Bedroom	$800-$1,400	$2,000-$3,200
2 Bedroom	$1,100-$1,925	$3,000-$4,800
3 Bedroom	$1,400-$2,450	$4,200-$6,720
4 Bedroom	$1,800-$3,150	$5,500-$8,800
5+ Bedroom	$2,200-$3,850	$7,000-$11,200

For a number tailored to your actual move, use the moving cost calculator.

Once this state has enough live `/moving-from-{city}-us-to-{city}-us` route pages, replace this national-benchmark table with a state-specific range derived from those priced corridors — the same approach movingcostadvisor.com uses. Not done here because the route inventory wasn't available to this research pass.

New-resident deadlines

Topic	Requirement	Source
Driver's license	New Virginia residents have 60 days from establishing residency to obtain a Virginia driver's license; commercial drivers (CDL holders) must convert within 30 days.	Virginia DMV — New to Virginia
Vehicle registration	Vehicles must be titled and registered at a Virginia DMV within 30 days of moving here; Virginia-compliant liability insurance is required before registration, and some localities separately require a local vehicle decal/sticker within the same 30 days.	Virginia DMV — New to Virginia
Voter registration	Standard voter registration must be received 11 days before an election. After that deadline, Virginia offers limited same-day registration in person at a local registrar's office (voting a provisional ballot), through Election Day itself.	Virginia Department of Elections — How to Register

Housing, season and licensing

Housing snapshot

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom unit in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metro is $1,970/month for FY2026, a useful proxy for typical mid-market rent in Virginia's largest metro area (Hampton Roads, ~1.79 million people). HUD Fair Market Rents dataset; figure via fmr.fyi — Virginia Beach, VA FY2026 Fair Market Rent, a third-party aggregator of HUD's published FMR data (not independently re-derived from HUD's raw file in this pass).

Peak moving season

Beyond the generic national summer peak, Virginia carries a distinct added driver: Hampton Roads hosts the world's largest naval base (Naval Station Norfolk) and an estimated 91,380 active-duty military personnel in the region, and DoD's official PCS ("permanent change of station") peak moving season runs mid-May through August — meaning a large, separate wave of military household-goods moves stacks on top of the ordinary civilian summer rush specifically in the Hampton Roads corridor. Norfolk Department of Economic Development — Strategic Location; Army Times — DoD PCS peak season 2026

Mover licensing

Yes — Virginia requires its own intrastate authority for household-goods carriers. Per Virginia DMV Motor Carrier Services, "if you transport household goods for more than 30 miles from where the move started, you must obtain Household Goods Carrier authority" — a state Certificate (Form OA 150, with a bond or letter of credit) that "authorizes your operations only in Virginia," separate from and in addition to federal FMCSA/USDOT authority required for interstate moves. Virginia does not exempt carriers who already hold federal interstate authority from this state requirement. Virginia DMV — Household Goods Carrier; Virginia DMV — Intrastate Operating Authority FAQ

Common in-state corridors

Virginia Beach → Richmond — Hampton Roads to the state capital, ~105 miles
Richmond → Arlington — state capital to the Northern Virginia/DC metro, ~110 miles
Virginia Beach → Arlington — Virginia's two largest population centers, ~200 miles

Popular routes

Live city-pair route pages touching Virginia will appear here as they publish.

Main inbound partners

Main outbound partners

Partner-state lists come from Census migration flows. Linked corridors above are live published route pages, not guessed slugs.

Virginia city guides

No live Virginia city guide is published yet — more cities coming soon.

Coming soon: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Arlington, Norfolk, Richmond.

Frequently asked questions

Does Virginia have a state income tax?: Yes — a graduated rate from 2% to 5.75%, not a flat rate and not one of the nine states with no income tax at all.
Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Virginia?: Yes, for most moves. Virginia requires household-goods carriers to hold intrastate Household Goods Carrier authority from DMV Motor Carrier Services for any move of more than 30 miles from where it started within the state — separate from the federal FMCSA authority that governs interstate moves. Confirm a mover's Virginia operating authority (Form OA 150 Certificate) before booking an in-state move.
When is moving season busiest in Virginia?: Summer is the general peak statewide, as it is nationally — but Hampton Roads sees an added spike on top of that: the region's roughly 91,380 active-duty military personnel and the Navy's official PCS peak season (mid-May through August) stack a large wave of military relocations onto the ordinary civilian summer rush specifically around Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
Why are so many people leaving Northern Virginia while Richmond keeps growing?: Regional Census-based estimates show Northern Virginia lost about 22,784 residents to domestic out-migration in 2024 even as the Richmond metro gained about 7,346 — a split analysts connect in part to federal civilian job losses concentrated in Northern Virginia (roughly 23,500 fewer federal civilian jobs statewide through November 2025), which employs a disproportionate share of the region's workforce. Statewide, Virginia's net domestic migration stayed close to flat to slightly positive because Richmond and other metros picked up some of what Northern Virginia lost.
How much does it cost to move within Virginia, e.g. from Virginia Beach to Richmond or Richmond to Arlington?: There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the moving cost calculator for a number based on your actual home size and distance.
What's rent like in the Virginia Beach area right now?: HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metro is $1,970/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in Virginia's largest metro area.