Charleston, WV vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Charleston to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($148,817 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Charlotte 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 Charleston, WV, you'd need about $109,280 in Charlotte, NC (+$9,280).
Livability — Charleston, WV: 77 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,714 sqft in Charleston vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($88 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, WV | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,180 | $20,880 | +$5,700 |
| Groceries | $4,767 | $4,834 | +$67 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $3,130 | −$280 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $1,752 | +$12 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,000 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $8,230 | $8,740 | +$511 |
| Total | $34,627 | $41,336 | +$6,709 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, WV | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.76% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.3% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $148,817 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.7× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $88 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,265 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.65% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |