Baltimore, MD vs Fayetteville, NC
Moving from Baltimore to Fayetteville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $259,183 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Fayetteville 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 Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $89,020 in Fayetteville, NC (−$10,980).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Fayetteville, NC: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 3,858 sqft in Fayetteville ($214 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Fayetteville, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $17,772 | −$5,256 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,840 | −$235 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,130 | −$555 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,752 | −$636 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $2,000 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $8,341 | −$3,243 |
| Total | $47,160 | $37,835 | −$9,325 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Fayetteville, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 7.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 35.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 46 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $259,183 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $130 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,481 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 0.94% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |