Hartford, CT vs Cleveland, OH
Moving from Hartford to Cleveland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($400,167 → $252,210 median home) and taxes.
Hartford vs Cleveland 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 Hartford, CT, you'd need about $88,486 in Cleveland, OH (−$11,514).
Livability — Hartford, CT: 59 · Cleveland, OH: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,374 sqft in Hartford vs 3,270 sqft in Cleveland ($211 vs $153 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hartford, CT | Cleveland, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $17,532 | −$6,168 |
| Groceries | $4,930 | $4,830 | −$100 |
| Transportation | $3,720 | $3,025 | −$695 |
| Utilities | $3,480 | $2,100 | −$1,380 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $15,460 | $9,518 | −$5,941 |
| Total | $52,890 | $38,305 | −$14,584 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hartford, CT | Cleveland, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.3 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.42% | 5.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.88 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $400,167 | $252,210 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Price per square foot | $211 | $153 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $1,461 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.4% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.35% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.99% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 2.16% | 1.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.07% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 32.2 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 150 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |