Asheville, NC vs Pittsburgh, PA
Moving from Asheville to Pittsburgh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,742 → $231,356 median home) and taxes.
Asheville vs Pittsburgh at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Asheville, NC, you'd need about $97,242 in Pittsburgh, PA (−$2,758).
Livability — Asheville, NC: 65 · Pittsburgh, PA: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,332 sqft in Asheville vs 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh ($214 vs $132 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Asheville, NC | Pittsburgh, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,496 | $18,324 | −$2,172 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $4,915 | +$75 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,440 | +$310 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $2,316 | +$564 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,200 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $8,431 | $8,069 | −$362 |
| Total | $40,649 | $38,264 | −$2,385 |
Side by side
| Metric | Asheville, NC | Pittsburgh, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.4 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.52% | 5.09% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.3% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 48 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $428,742 | $231,356 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.6× | 3.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.6% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $132 |
| Median rent | $1,708 | $1,527 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.59% | 1.44% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |