Huntington, WV vs Boston, MA
Moving from Huntington to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($166,506 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Huntington vs Boston 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 Huntington, WV, you'd need about $125,294 in Boston, MA (+$25,294).
Livability — Huntington, WV: 77 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,107 sqft in Huntington vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($98 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Huntington, WV | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,128 | $38,532 | +$25,404 |
| Groceries | $4,773 | $5,040 | +$266 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $3,210 | −$200 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $3,180 | +$1,440 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $8,423 | $17,694 | +$9,271 |
| Total | $32,774 | $69,455 | +$36,681 |
Side by side
| Metric | Huntington, WV | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.1 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.32% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.01 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $166,506 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.0× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.5% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $98 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,094 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |