Huntington, WV vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Huntington to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($166,506 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Huntington 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 Huntington, WV, you'd need about $118,806 in Phoenix, AZ (+$18,806).
Livability — Huntington, WV: 77 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,107 sqft in Huntington vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($98 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Huntington, WV | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,128 | $20,904 | +$7,776 |
| Groceries | $4,773 | $4,919 | +$146 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $3,960 | +$550 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $1,668 | −$72 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $8,423 | $7,280 | −$1,142 |
| Total | $32,774 | $40,531 | +$7,757 |
Side by side
| Metric | Huntington, WV | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.1 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.32% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 86 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.01 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $166,506 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.0× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.5% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $98 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,094 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 41 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |