Palm Bay, FL vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Palm Bay to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($344,841 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Palm Bay 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 Palm Bay, FL, you'd need about $96,053 in Charlotte, NC (−$3,947).
Livability — Palm Bay, FL: 66 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,682 sqft in Palm Bay vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($186 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Palm Bay, FL | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,040 | $20,880 | −$2,160 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,834 | +$21 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,130 | −$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,752 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,000 | −$2,200 |
| Taxes | $4,459 | $8,740 | +$4,281 |
| Total | $42,968 | $41,336 | −$1,632 |
Side by side
| Metric | Palm Bay, FL | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.3 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.5% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.77 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $344,841 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.2% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,920 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |