Charleston, WV vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Charleston to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($148,817 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Tampa 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 $115,063 in Tampa, FL (+$15,063).
Livability — Charleston, WV: 77 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,714 sqft in Charleston vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($88 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, WV | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,180 | $24,216 | +$9,036 |
| Groceries | $4,767 | $4,949 | +$182 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $4,800 | +$1,390 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $1,656 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $4,200 | +$2,900 |
| Taxes | $8,230 | $4,642 | −$3,587 |
| Total | $34,627 | $44,463 | +$9,836 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, WV | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.76% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.3% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $148,817 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.7× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $88 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,265 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.65% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $253 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $73 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 66% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |