Hickory, NC vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Hickory to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($271,739 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Hickory vs Phoenix 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 Hickory, NC, you'd need about $117,121 in Phoenix, AZ (+$17,121).
Livability — Hickory, NC: 73 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,679 sqft in Hickory vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($136 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hickory, NC | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,952 | $20,904 | +$2,952 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $4,919 | +$79 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,960 | +$830 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,668 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,800 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $7,879 | $7,280 | −$599 |
| Total | $37,553 | $40,531 | +$2,978 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hickory, NC | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.4 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.52% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $271,739 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.7× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $136 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,496 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.69% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |