Charleston, WV vs Sacramento, CA
Moving from Charleston to Sacramento? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($148,817 → $582,707 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Sacramento 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 $122,494 in Sacramento, CA (+$22,494).
Livability — Charleston, WV: 77 · Sacramento, CA: 49 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,714 sqft in Charleston vs 1,287 sqft in Sacramento ($88 vs $389 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, WV | Sacramento, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,180 | $27,396 | +$12,216 |
| Groceries | $4,767 | $5,247 | +$480 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $5,125 | +$1,715 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $3,804 | +$2,064 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,500 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $8,230 | $20,410 | +$12,181 |
| Total | $34,627 | $63,482 | +$28,855 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, WV | Sacramento, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 109.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.76% | 5.74% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.3% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $6.21 |
| Median home price | $148,817 | $582,707 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.7× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $88 | $389 |
| Median rent | $1,265 | $2,283 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.65% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $253 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $73 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 19.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 78% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |