Providence, RI vs Winston, NC
Moving from Providence to Winston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $283,871 median home) and taxes.
Providence vs Winston 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 $90,238 in Winston, NC (−$9,762).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Winston, NC: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 3,524 sqft in Winston ($328 vs $142 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Winston, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $18,552 | −$7,404 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,840 | −$82 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,130 | −$745 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,752 | −$1,308 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $2,000 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $8,183 | −$4,938 |
| Total | $52,634 | $38,457 | −$14,177 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Winston, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 91.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 5.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.21 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $283,871 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $142 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,546 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.77% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |