Salem, OR vs Cincinnati, OH
Moving from Salem to Cincinnati? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $311,270 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $91,963 in Cincinnati, OH (−$8,037).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Cincinnati, OH: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,651 sqft in Cincinnati ($268 vs $189 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Cincinnati, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $18,900 | −$636 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,718 | −$521 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,025 | −$655 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $2,100 | +$396 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,300 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $8,820 | −$4,315 |
| Total | $44,194 | $38,863 | −$5,331 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Cincinnati, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 94.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 4.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 4.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.36 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $311,270 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 4.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $189 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,575 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 45.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 23.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |