Indianapolis, IN vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Indianapolis to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($295,921 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Indianapolis vs Charleston 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 Indianapolis, IN, you'd need about $94,092 in Charleston, WV (−$5,908).
Livability — Indianapolis, IN: 71 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($156 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Indianapolis, IN | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,636 | $15,180 | −$3,456 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,767 | +$27 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,410 | +$160 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,740 | −$192 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $7,367 | $8,230 | +$863 |
| Total | $37,525 | $34,627 | −$2,898 |
Side by side
| Metric | Indianapolis, IN | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.28% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $295,921 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $156 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,553 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $102 | $253 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $73 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.5 | 12.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |