New York, NY vs Charleston, WV
Moving from New York to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
New York 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $79,061 in Charleston, WV (−$20,939).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($455 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $15,180 | −$26,856 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,767 | −$648 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,410 | −$485 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,740 | −$1,440 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $8,230 | −$15,266 |
| Total | $79,622 | $34,627 | −$44,995 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $88 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |