Phoenix, AZ vs Huntington, WV
Moving from Phoenix to Huntington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $166,506 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix vs Huntington 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $84,171 in Huntington, WV (−$15,829).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · Huntington, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 5,107 sqft in Huntington ($242 vs $98 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | Huntington, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $13,128 | −$7,776 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $4,773 | −$146 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,410 | −$550 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,740 | +$72 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,300 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $8,423 | +$1,143 |
| Total | $40,531 | $32,774 | −$7,757 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | Huntington, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 88.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 5.32% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 86 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $5.01 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $166,506 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 3.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $98 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $1,094 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |