2026 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Lake Forest, CA vs Richmond, VA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Richmond or is it cheaper to live in Lake Forest?
- Richmond is 42.3% less expensive than Lake Forest.

Which city has more affordable housing, Richmond or Lake Forest?
- Richmond housing costs are 67.7% less expensive than Lake Forest housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Lake Forest or is Health Care more affordable in Richmond.
- Health related expenses are 6.2% more in Richmond.
 Lake Forest, CARichmond, VAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock95.2100
 Food & Groceries103.6  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock99.2100
 Housing300.0  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$327,100$338,100
 Utilities102  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock83.5100
 Miscellaneous155.9  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

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As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

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I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

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Reviews for Richmond    109 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

Lived here for a year and it’s not perfect but it’s constantly improving now (areas redevloped, more businesses, job growth). Cost of living is great compared to  More

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Over 5 years ago

We love Richmond so much that when we talk about where we'd like to live if we could live anywhere in the US, we always come back to RVA. We live in the city proper  More

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Over 5 years ago

I'm an out-of-towner but am coming up on 1 year in Richmond. I would summarize it this way: the best thing and the worst thing about Richmond is its location. I'll  More

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