Raleigh, NC vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Raleigh to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($438,364 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Raleigh 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 Raleigh, NC, you'd need about $98,951 in Charlotte, NC (−$1,049).
Livability — Raleigh, NC: 64 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,281 sqft in Raleigh vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($219 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Raleigh, NC | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,328 | $20,880 | +$552 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $4,834 | −$6 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,130 | +$0 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,752 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,000 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,294 | $8,740 | −$554 |
| Total | $41,344 | $41,336 | −$8 |
Side by side
| Metric | Raleigh, NC | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.4 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.19% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 11.5% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $438,364 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.2% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $219 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,694 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.75% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 46.1 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 5.2 | 3.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |