Austin, TX vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Austin to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Charleston 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 Austin, TX, you'd need about $90,620 in Charleston, WV (−$9,380).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($204 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $15,180 | −$4,440 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,767 | +$120 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,410 | −$265 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,740 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,300 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $8,230 | −$1,328 |
| Total | $42,936 | $34,627 | −$8,309 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |