Nashville, TN vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Nashville to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Nashville 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $91,790 in Charleston, WV (−$8,210).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($228 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $15,180 | −$6,396 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,767 | +$53 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,410 | +$280 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,740 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,300 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $8,230 | +$2,999 |
| Total | $38,459 | $34,627 | −$3,832 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |