Rochester, NY vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Rochester to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($285,034 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Rochester vs Baltimore 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 Rochester, NY, you'd need about $104,874 in Baltimore, MD (+$4,874).
Livability — Rochester, NY: 59 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,807 sqft in Rochester vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($178 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Rochester, NY | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,164 | $23,028 | +$3,864 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,075 | +$207 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,685 | −$210 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,388 | −$792 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,400 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $18,722 | $11,584 | −$7,138 |
| Total | $51,429 | $47,160 | −$4,269 |
Side by side
| Metric | Rochester, NY | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.4 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.01% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $285,034 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.7% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $178 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,597 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 2.76% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 35.1 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 102.0 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 51% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |