Rochester, NY vs Cleveland, OH
Moving from Rochester to Cleveland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($285,034 → $252,210 median home) and taxes.
Rochester vs Cleveland 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 $92,897 in Cleveland, OH (−$7,103).
Livability — Rochester, NY: 59 · Cleveland, OH: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,807 sqft in Rochester vs 3,270 sqft in Cleveland ($178 vs $153 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Rochester, NY | Cleveland, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,164 | $17,532 | −$1,632 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $4,830 | −$38 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,025 | −$870 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,100 | −$1,080 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $18,722 | $9,518 | −$9,204 |
| Total | $51,429 | $38,305 | −$13,124 |
Side by side
| Metric | Rochester, NY | Cleveland, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.4 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.01% | 5.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.60 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $285,034 | $252,210 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Price per square foot | $178 | $153 |
| Median rent | $1,597 | $1,461 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 2.76% | 1.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 35.1 | 41.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 102.0 | 63.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 51% | 49% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |