Huntington, WV vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Huntington to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($166,506 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Huntington 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 Huntington, WV, you'd need about $111,441 in Detroit, MI (+$11,441).
Livability — Huntington, WV: 77 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,107 sqft in Huntington vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($98 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Huntington, WV | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,128 | $18,000 | +$4,872 |
| Groceries | $4,773 | $4,896 | +$123 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $4,575 | +$1,165 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $2,316 | +$576 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,423 | $9,547 | +$1,125 |
| Total | $32,774 | $40,634 | +$7,860 |
Side by side
| Metric | Huntington, WV | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.1 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.32% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.01 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $166,506 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.5% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $98 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,094 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |