Detroit, MI vs Huntington, WV
Moving from Detroit to Huntington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $166,506 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $89,734 in Huntington, WV (−$10,266).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Huntington, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 5,107 sqft in Huntington ($163 vs $98 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Huntington, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $13,128 | −$4,872 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,773 | −$123 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,410 | −$1,165 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,740 | −$576 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $8,423 | −$1,124 |
| Total | $40,634 | $32,774 | −$7,860 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Huntington, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 88.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 5.32% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.01 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $166,506 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $98 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,094 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |