Cleveland, OH vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Cleveland to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($252,210 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Cleveland vs Charleston 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 Cleveland, OH, you'd need about $97,438 in Charleston, WV (−$2,562).
Livability — Cleveland, OH: 71 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,270 sqft in Cleveland vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($153 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Cleveland, OH | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,532 | $15,180 | −$2,352 |
| Groceries | $4,830 | $4,767 | −$63 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,410 | +$385 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,740 | −$360 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,518 | $8,230 | −$1,288 |
| Total | $38,305 | $34,627 | −$3,678 |
Side by side
| Metric | Cleveland, OH | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.4 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.88% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.8% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $252,210 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.3% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $153 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,461 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.84% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $253 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $73 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 63.8 | 12.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 49% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |