2026 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Ann Arbor, MI vs Fairfax, VA

Change Cities
Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Fairfax or is it cheaper to live in Ann Arbor?
- Fairfax is 35.0% more expensive than Ann Arbor.

Which city has more affordable housing, Fairfax or Ann Arbor?
- Fairfax housing costs are 56.1% more expensive than Ann Arbor housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Ann Arbor or is Health Care more affordable in Fairfax.
- Health related expenses are 26.9% more in Fairfax.
 Ann Arbor, MIFairfax, VAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock142.4100
 Food & Groceries102.6  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock102.7100
 Housing143.4  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$654,200$338,100
 Utilities99  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock127.6100
 Miscellaneous130.8  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
DID YOU KNOW?

In order to keep your same standard of living your salary can vary greatly - whether you buy or rent, require child care, or want to include taxes. This is why we are now offering a Premium Salary & Cost of Living Calculator.

Our Premium Calculator Includes:
- Compare Cities cost of living across 9 different categories
- Personal salary calculations can optionally include Home ownership or rental, Child care, and Taxes (with details on state and local sales, income, property and automobile taxes)
- Includes the cost of Child Care for toddlers or infants, at a day care center or home care
- Grocery prices, detailed for 29 staple items in six categories
- Difference in cost of Utilities, including electric, gas and fuel oil
- Health Care Premiums and hospital expenses for major surgeries
- Taxes, Fees and Expenses you should know about, such as local car insurance rates, automobile taxes and registration, commuting costs.
- and 100s of other items you should consider before you relocate

Upgrade to Premium | See Example

Reviews for Ann Arbor    49 Reviews

Over 9 years ago

Highly educated city. traffic and parking is bad. university culture is nice, not sure about elsewhere. no good pizza! if you're looking for food, I recommend "a taste  More

   |    Reply

Uh, compared to my other favorite college towns this one lacks flavor. Safer and kinda pretty, but not the greenest place, it's fine. Good restaurants, music, art,  More

   |    Reply

Over 11 years ago

Ann Arbor bus service (AATA) is quite good. The Detroit Metro Airport is only a 20 min. drive away and is also quite good. The traffic in Ann Arbor is usually mild  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Ann Arbor

Reviews for Fairfax    28 Reviews

I lived in the area for 17 years through high school until I eventually became a truck driver. Having now seen most states extensively, I wanted to fairly review what  More

   |    Reply

Living in Fairfax, or any of the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC, means dealing with highways that are a Gordian knot of converging lanes and overpasses, making long  More

   |    Reply

Over 11 years ago

The Cost of living here is high. Though the standard of living is also high, unless you're making over 50,000/year, it's difficult to both live and build any sort of  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Fairfax


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.