Provo, UT vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Provo to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($546,641 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Provo vs Charlotte 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 Provo, UT, you'd need about $101,652 in Charlotte, NC (+$1,652).
Livability — Provo, UT: 65 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,921 sqft in Provo vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($260 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Provo, UT | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,900 | $20,880 | −$1,020 |
| Groceries | $4,736 | $4,834 | +$98 |
| Transportation | $3,450 | $3,130 | −$320 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,752 | +$312 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,000 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $9,160 | $8,740 | −$419 |
| Total | $41,885 | $41,336 | −$550 |
Side by side
| Metric | Provo, UT | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.41% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 15.5% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $546,641 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $260 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,825 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.1% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.19% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.65% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.45% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $450 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $187 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 260 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 24 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 15.5 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.9 | 3.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |