Durham, NC vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Durham to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($414,340 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Durham vs Detroit 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 Durham, NC, you'd need about $100,863 in Detroit, MI (+$863).
Livability — Durham, NC: 65 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,413 sqft in Durham vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($207 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Durham, NC | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,436 | $18,000 | −$2,436 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $4,896 | +$57 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,575 | +$1,445 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $2,316 | +$564 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,300 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $9,397 | $9,547 | +$150 |
| Total | $41,555 | $40,634 | −$920 |
Side by side
| Metric | Durham, NC | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.03% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.8% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $414,340 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $207 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,703 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.87% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 46.1 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 5.2 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |