New York, NY vs Merced, CA
Moving from New York to Merced? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $419,171 median home) and taxes.
New York vs Merced 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 $88,435 in Merced, CA (−$11,565).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Merced, CA: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 1,790 sqft in Merced ($455 vs $279 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Merced, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $23,700 | −$18,336 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $5,247 | −$168 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $5,125 | +$1,230 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $3,804 | +$624 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,500 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $18,715 | −$4,781 |
| Total | $79,622 | $58,091 | −$21,531 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Merced, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 10.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $419,171 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $279 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 5 |