Are you thinking about moving to Fredericksburg, Virginia, and wonder if it’s affordable?

In this episode of Give, Work, Play, I’m going to break down the cost of living here in Fredericksburg. We’ll look at everything from the cost of housing to the cost of gas so you know what to expect.

The Cost Of Living In Fredericksburg

The first and most obvious question you probably have is, ‘how much does it cost to live in Fredericksburg, Virginia?’ It really depends on whether you decide it’s better to rent or to buy, what kind of housing you need, and what amenities you want.

For example, do you want to live in the downtown historic district where it's got cool streets made out of cobblestone and you can walk to the local restaurants, breweries, and shops? Or do you want something a little bit older, like a Civil War-era house? Would you prefer something more modern and updated? Do you want to be in a subdivision? Are you looking for a property with some acreage? Are you looking to settle in Spotsylvania where it's a little bit more spread out, or do you want that tighter community vibe?

Housing Prices

With so many options, the price of housing can vary widely. What you're looking for is going to be very specific on how much you can afford and what the cost of living will be. On average, a four-bedroom, two and a half bath single-family home around Fredericksburg cost roughly $350,000 as of spring 2021. If you take that same house and put it on over three acres, it could run you about $600,000 on average.

If you're looking for something on the water or with more acreage, you could be up in the million-dollar range. Something smaller and older on the same three acres could be in the $300,000 to $400,000 range. If you're looking to rent around the Fredericksburg area, plan on spending anywhere between $1,500 to over $4,000 on the high end. Again, it all depends on what you're looking for.

A good rule on pricing is the closer you live to downtown or the water, the more expensive the property's going to be. If you go a little further south away from DC, you might save a little bit of money for that same house.

Taxes And Transportation

The next cost you’ll want to be prepared for is property taxes. While these vary in our area, you can expect to pay about 1% of the assessed value of your home. This assessed value is actually lower than fair market value, so taxes here are on the low side of the national average. As far as other taxes go, state income tax here in Virginia is 5.75%.

Next to consider is transportation costs. As of spring 2021, your average gas price is around $2.65 a gallon. The cool thing about Fredericksburg is that we not only have a Costco, but we also have a BJs. This means you have a couple of options to save a little bit of money when you fuel up. At these locations, you're going to find gas about $2.45 a gallon. This makes our gas prices a little bit less than the national average.

And yes, you are going to need a car if you're living in the Fredericksburg area. The majority of our residents are going to commute either to DC, Northern Virginia, Quantico, or Dahlgren. And if you're living in Stafford County, your vehicle is going to need an emissions test every other year. This costs about $25. You're also going to need a yearly vehicle inspection sticker that's about $20.

We also have this thing here called personal property tax, which is paid every year. This tax applies to all of your toys, like a camper, motorcycle, car, trailer, or similar vehicles. If you're an active-duty military member and you have residency out of the state—or you're a 100% disabled veteran—you can actually file for a waiver.

Lastly, if you don't want to sit in traffic on 95, you can get these little transponders to drive in the hot lanes. While this option is a lot faster option, it's going to cost you money. You can also take the VRE as a commuting option, which is just the cost of a train ticket.

Experience Fredericksburg Living

I hope this gave you some insight into the cost of living in and around the Fredericksburg, Virginia area. If you have any additional questions about Fredericksburg or Northern Virginia, please don't hesitate to reach out and ask. We help people PCS into Northern Virginia with orders to Quantico, Fort Belvoir, Dahlgren, and Pentagon all the time, and we're here to help you too.

If you want to receive more information that's focused on the northern Virginia area, make sure to like and subscribe to my channel so you never miss an episode of Give, Work, Play. Stay tuned to see what I feature next!