Roanoke, VA vs Cincinnati, OH
Moving from Roanoke to Cincinnati? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($301,139 → $311,270 median home) and taxes.
Roanoke vs Cincinnati 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 Roanoke, VA, you'd need about $103,310 in Cincinnati, OH (+$3,310).
Livability — Roanoke, VA: 73 · Cincinnati, OH: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,320 sqft in Roanoke vs 2,651 sqft in Cincinnati ($151 vs $189 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Roanoke, VA | Cincinnati, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,836 | $18,900 | +$2,064 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,718 | −$136 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,025 | −$55 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $2,100 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $9,549 | $8,820 | −$728 |
| Total | $37,690 | $38,863 | +$1,173 |
Side by side
| Metric | Roanoke, VA | Cincinnati, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.2 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.05% | 4.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 4.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $301,139 | $311,270 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.8% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $151 | $189 |
| Median rent | $1,403 | $1,575 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $103 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.5 | 45.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.8 | 23.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |