Davenport, IA vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Davenport to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($195,380 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Davenport vs Charlotte 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 Davenport, IA, you'd need about $109,152 in Charlotte, NC (+$9,152).
Livability — Davenport, IA: 73 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,223 sqft in Davenport vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($118 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Davenport, IA | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $20,880 | +$8,628 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $4,834 | +$20 |
| Transportation | $3,150 | $3,130 | −$20 |
| Utilities | $1,500 | $1,752 | +$252 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $2,000 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $9,346 | $8,740 | −$606 |
| Total | $32,762 | $41,336 | +$8,574 |
Side by side
| Metric | Davenport, IA | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.2 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.82% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.0% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 46 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $195,380 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.9× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.9% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $118 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.2% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.94% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.80% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.93% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.00% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.9 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 12 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |