Charlotte, NC vs Austin, TX
Moving from Charlotte to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,321 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Charlotte vs Austin 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 Charlotte, NC, you'd need about $100,979 in Austin, TX (+$979).
Livability — Charlotte, NC: 66 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,561 sqft in Charlotte vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($195 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charlotte, NC | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,880 | $19,620 | −$1,260 |
| Groceries | $4,834 | $4,647 | −$187 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,675 | +$545 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,836 | +$84 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $3,600 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $9,558 | +$818 |
| Total | $41,336 | $42,936 | +$1,600 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charlotte, NC | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.71% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.0% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $390,321 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.1× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.5 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |