Philadelphia, PA vs Fayetteville, NC
Moving from Philadelphia to Fayetteville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $259,183 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Fayetteville 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $89,734 in Fayetteville, NC (−$10,266).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Fayetteville, NC: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 3,858 sqft in Fayetteville ($223 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Fayetteville, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $17,772 | −$5,196 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,840 | −$69 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,130 | −$310 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,752 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,000 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $8,341 | −$1,851 |
| Total | $45,025 | $37,835 | −$7,190 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Fayetteville, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 7.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 35.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 46 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $259,183 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $130 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,481 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.94% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |