Providence, RI vs Merced, CA
Moving from Providence to Merced? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $419,171 median home) and taxes.
Providence vs Merced 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 $98,135 in Merced, CA (−$1,865).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Merced, CA: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 1,790 sqft in Merced ($328 vs $279 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Merced, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $23,700 | −$2,256 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $5,247 | +$325 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $5,125 | +$1,250 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $3,804 | +$744 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $1,500 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $18,715 | +$5,594 |
| Total | $52,634 | $58,091 | +$5,457 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Merced, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 10.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $419,171 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $279 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 13.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 75% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |