Even on the area’s higher pay, Triangle costs more to live in than 66% of U.S. towns
It ranks #110 of 253 in Virginia for affordability. Up 0.5% in a year, 37% above the Virginia typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Triangle’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($127K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 27% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 57% of renters.
In dollars
- $567Ktypical home, 37% above the Virginia typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,690a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 109prices across the Washington metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 151)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$127K, Washington-area income
- 15%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 57%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Virginia: 49%Census 2020–24
- 27%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Triangle’s housing numbers say
A high property tax rate
Owners pay about 0.96% of a home’s value a year in property tax, against 0.73% across Virginia. The median bill is $4,840 (Virginia: $2,790). On the typical home, that’s about $450 a month. Property taxes ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of Triangle’s homes were built after 1998, against 1984 for Virginia as a whole. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Triangle’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Triangle is more affordable than 34% of U.S. towns, #110 of 253 in Virginia. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Values have lagged Virginia: the typical Triangle home is up 17.2% in five years, against 23.5% statewide (Zillow).
Up 17.2% in five years
Slower than Virginia (23.5%).
Show as a table
| January | Triangle | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $357,000 | $251,000 |
| 2018 | $368,000 | $261,000 |
| 2019 | $381,000 | $269,000 |
| 2020 | $397,000 | $282,000 |
| 2021 | $439,000 | $309,000 |
| 2022 | $494,000 | $342,000 |
| 2023 | $519,000 | $364,000 |
| 2024 | $538,000 | $384,000 |
| 2025 | $569,000 | $402,000 |
| 2026 | $568,000 | $408,000 |
| September 2026 | $567,000 | $412,000 |
A typical Triangle home worth $351K in October 2016 is worth about $567K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 6 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Triangle’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $76K short of a typical Triangle home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,690 a month here, $1,730 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Triangle’s typical property tax (0.96% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,690
Renters already here pay a median of $1,554.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs above the Virginia norm
The median bill is $4,840 (Virginia: $2,790), 0.96% of a home’s value a year, against 0.73% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Triangle
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, or Virginia. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 109 | VA 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 105 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 107 | VA 92 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 102 | VA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Triangle vs. its neighbors
Of the 2 towns here with a Zillow value, Triangle has the lowest. Cherry Hill has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle | C | $567K | $505K | 0.96% | $1,690 |
| Dumfries | B | $586K | $332K | 1.16% | $1,970 |
| Cherry Hill | C | — | $493K | 0.96% | $2,040 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Triangle
Is Triangle expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Triangle costs more than 66% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #110 of 253 in Virginia. The typical home costs 4.0 years of the median household income of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area ($127K).
How much does a house cost in Triangle?
About $567K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.5% in a year. The Virginia typical home is $412K.
What salary do you need to live in Triangle?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $147,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $3,420 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $68,000.
How much is rent in Triangle?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,690 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,554 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Triangle?
The median bill is $4,840 a year, 0.96% of the median home value (Virginia: $2,790, 0.73%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Triangle going up?
Barely: up 0.5% in the past year and 17.2% in five years, against 23.5% across Virginia (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Triangle buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.