Kennewick, WA vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Kennewick to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($441,524 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Kennewick vs Charlotte 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 Kennewick, WA, you'd need about $98,420 in Charlotte, NC (−$1,580).
Livability — Kennewick, WA: 61 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,038 sqft in Kennewick vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($245 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kennewick, WA | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,556 | $20,880 | +$324 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,834 | −$412 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,130 | −$945 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,752 | +$204 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $6,004 | $8,740 | +$2,736 |
| Total | $38,929 | $41,336 | +$2,407 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kennewick, WA | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.9 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.10% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.63 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $441,524 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $245 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,713 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.82% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 16.6 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 3.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 52% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |