Louisville/Jefferson County, KY vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Louisville/Jefferson County to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Louisville/Jefferson County 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 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY, you'd need about $104,433 in Charlotte, NC (+$4,433).
Livability — Louisville/Jefferson County, KY: 72 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in Louisville/Jefferson County vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($200 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $20,880 | +$2,880 |
| Groceries | $4,716 | $4,834 | +$118 |
| Transportation | $3,870 | $3,130 | −$740 |
| Utilities | $1,620 | $1,752 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,000 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $7,922 | $8,740 | +$818 |
| Total | $38,328 | $41,336 | +$3,008 |
Side by side
| Metric | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.66% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.82% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.44% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $250 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.0 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |