Providence, RI vs Atlantic City, NJ
Moving from Providence to Atlantic City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $384,211 median home) and taxes.
Providence vs Atlantic City 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $97,433 in Atlantic City, NJ (−$2,567).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Atlantic City, NJ: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 2,473 sqft in Atlantic City ($328 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Atlantic City, NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $25,812 | −$144 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,888 | −$34 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,710 | −$165 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $2,544 | −$516 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $1,300 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $19,743 | +$6,622 |
| Total | $52,634 | $57,997 | +$5,363 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Atlantic City, NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 98.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 8.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 35 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.63 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $384,211 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 3.9% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $202 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $2,151 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 13.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 6.60% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 2.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 23.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 23 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |