Pittsburgh, PA vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Pittsburgh to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Charleston 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 Pittsburgh, PA, you'd need about $94,036 in Charleston, WV (−$5,964).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($132 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $15,180 | −$3,144 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,767 | −$148 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,410 | −$30 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,740 | −$576 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,300 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $8,230 | +$161 |
| Total | $38,264 | $34,627 | −$3,637 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |