Baltimore, MD vs Manchester, NH
Moving from Baltimore to Manchester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $526,340 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Manchester 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 $102,363 in Manchester, NH (+$2,363).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Manchester, NH: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 1,710 sqft in Manchester ($214 vs $292 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Manchester, NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $25,632 | +$2,604 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,935 | −$140 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $2,955 | −$730 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $2,940 | +$552 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,000 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $6,681 | −$4,903 |
| Total | $47,160 | $44,143 | −$3,017 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Manchester, NH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 105.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 3.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $6.01 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $526,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $292 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $2,136 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 1.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.80% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 27.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $90 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $85 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $66 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 120 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 81 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 10 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |