Greater Richmond · Relocation · Verified 2026-11-07
Moving to Richmond, with every number sourced.
You're about to pick a city, a county line, and a tax bill at the same time. This guide gives you each one with the source next to it: 2026 tax rates for all five localities, September 2026 home prices, commute times, and every Virginia deadline in your first 60 days.
Reviewed 2026-11-07 · By Miles Agee, Real Estate Advisor
Start with your situation
Four ways into the guide. Pick the one that sounds like you.
Every section
Why people move to Richmond, in numbers.
Most guides quote a cost-of-living number nobody can trace. Here is the one the federal government publishes.
What Richmond costs you, line by line.
The costly mistake is falling for a house before you check which locality's tax bill comes with it.
How you'll get around Richmond.
The mistake is choosing a neighborhood by distance on a map. Pick by the drive at 8am, and by which bridge or toll sits in the middle of it.
Living inside the City of Richmond.
The mistake is touring five city neighborhoods in one afternoon. Each one is a different housing stock with a different price per square foot. Pick two.
Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, and Goochland.
The mistake is comparing list prices across county lines without adding the tax bill and the commute. The table below puts all three on one line.
How to check schools for any Richmond address.
The mistake is trusting the school field on a listing. It's typed in by hand and boundaries change.
Hospitals and trauma care in Richmond.
Older guides call VCU the region's only Level I trauma center. Chippenham is Level I too.
Richmond weather, by the numbers.
The mistake is touring in October and deciding the climate is perfect. Visit once in July before you commit.
Your first 30 days in Virginia, in order.
The expensive mistake is paying Virginia's 4.15% titling tax on a car you've owned for years. New residents usually don't owe it.
Start here
Richmond is five governments, not one
When people say Richmond, they usually mean the metro. This guide covers the five core localities: the City of Richmond plus Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, and Goochland counties. In Virginia, an independent city is not part of any county.
That line sets your tax rate, your school division, your trash service, and your car tax. It can run down the middle of a street. So two homes you like at the same price can cost you very different amounts each month.
The tour trip
Most relocation trips get the order backwards
Most buyers book one weekend, tour nine houses, and pick a house instead of a place. Six months later the house is fine and the commute is not.
Flip it. Spend day one driving areas with no showings booked. Sit in Sub Rosa Bakery in Church Hill on a Saturday morning. Walk Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Lakeside. Drive West Broad Street toward Short Pump at 5:30 p.m. and feel the traffic for yourself. Then spend day two touring only in the two areas that survived.
Common Questions
Questions people actually ask
What is the property tax rate in Richmond, Virginia?
For 2026, the City of Richmond charges $1.20 per $100 of assessed value. The counties are lower: Chesterfield $0.89, Henrico $0.83, Hanover $0.81, and Goochland $0.53. Each rate links to its locality in the Taxes and costs section.
Is Richmond, Virginia part of a county?
No. Richmond is an independent city, which in Virginia means it is not part of any county. A home inside the city line and one a block outside it can have different tax rates, services, and school divisions.
How long is the average commute in Richmond?
26.0 minutes one way across the metro in the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, and 21.7 minutes for people who live in the City of Richmond.
What do I have to do when I move to Virginia?
Title and register your car within 30 days, get a Virginia driver's license within 60 days, and report the car to your city or county on its own deadline (30 to 60 days). The First 30 days section lists every step in order.
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This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or lending advice. Tax rates, loan program terms, and market figures are current as of 2026-11-07 and change regularly. Verify locality tax rates with the assessor, loan terms with your lender and virginiahousing.com, and market data with current MLS records before making decisions. School information should be verified through Niche, GreatSchools, or the official school district. Real estate commissions are negotiable and are not set by law. Miles Agee is a Real Estate Advisor licensed in Virginia, license 0225249973, on the OneSouth Realty team at Samson Properties. MAMS does not steer clients by race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, or any other protected class.