Charlotte, NC vs Huntington, WV
Moving from Charlotte to Huntington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,321 → $166,506 median home) and taxes.
Charlotte vs Huntington 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 $90,531 in Huntington, WV (−$9,469).
Livability — Charlotte, NC: 66 · Huntington, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,561 sqft in Charlotte vs 5,107 sqft in Huntington ($195 vs $98 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charlotte, NC | Huntington, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,880 | $13,128 | −$7,752 |
| Groceries | $4,834 | $4,773 | −$60 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,410 | +$280 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,740 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,300 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $8,423 | −$317 |
| Total | $41,336 | $32,774 | −$8,562 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charlotte, NC | Huntington, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 88.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.71% | 5.32% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.0% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.01 |
| Median home price | $390,321 | $166,506 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.1× | 3.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $98 |
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,094 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |