Peoria, IL vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Peoria to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($172,742 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Peoria 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 Peoria, IL, you'd need about $109,556 in Charlotte, NC (+$9,556).
Livability — Peoria, IL: 69 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,921 sqft in Peoria vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($102 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Peoria, IL | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,148 | $20,880 | +$6,732 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,834 | +$179 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,130 | −$420 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,752 | −$456 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $2,000 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $11,370 | $8,740 | −$2,630 |
| Total | $37,831 | $41,336 | +$3,505 |
Side by side
| Metric | Peoria, IL | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.8 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.30% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.5% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.05 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $172,742 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 2.6× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 7.7% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $102 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,179 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 2.19% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |