Huntington, WV vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Huntington to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($166,506 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Huntington vs Chicago 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 $116,320 in Chicago, IL (+$16,320).
Livability — Huntington, WV: 77 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,107 sqft in Huntington vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($98 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Huntington, WV | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,128 | $27,192 | +$14,064 |
| Groceries | $4,773 | $5,215 | +$442 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $3,550 | +$140 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $2,208 | +$468 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,900 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $8,423 | $14,141 | +$5,719 |
| Total | $32,774 | $54,206 | +$21,432 |
Side by side
| Metric | Huntington, WV | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.1 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.32% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.01 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $166,506 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.0× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.5% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $98 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,094 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $68 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $253 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $73 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 12.0 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |