SalaryCompareTool

San Jose, CA vs Winston, NC

Moving from San Jose to Winston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,610,466 → $283,871 median home) and taxes.

San Jose vs Winston at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

San Jose, CA Winston, NC Cost-of-living index San Jose, CA — Cost-of-living index: 113 113 Winston, NC — Cost-of-living index: 92 92 Median home price San Jose, CA — Median home price: $1610k $1610k Winston, NC — Median home price: $284k $284k Price per sqft San Jose, CA — Price per sqft: $1074 $1074 Winston, NC — Price per sqft: $142 $142 Median rent San Jose, CA — Median rent: $3,625 $3,625 Winston, NC — Median rent: $1,546 $1,546 Combined sales tax San Jose, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Winston, NC — Combined sales tax: 7.0% 7.0% Property tax rate San Jose, CA — Property tax rate: 0.71% 0.71% Winston, NC — Property tax rate: 0.77% 0.77% Violent crime /100k San Jose, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Winston, NC — Violent crime /100k: 400 400 Electricity ¢/kWh San Jose, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Winston, NC — Electricity ¢/kWh: 16.3 16.3 Avg commute (min) San Jose, CA — Avg commute (min): 28 28 Winston, NC — Avg commute (min): 24 24 Avg summer high °F San Jose, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Winston, NC — Avg summer high °F: 89° 89° Avg winter low °F San Jose, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° Winston, NC — Avg winter low °F: 30° 30°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in San Jose, CA, you'd need about $81,021 in Winston, NC (−$18,979).

Livability — San Jose, CA: 32 · Winston, NC: 71 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 466 sqft in San Jose vs 3,524 sqft in Winston ($1074 vs $142 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Jose, CAWinston, NCDifference
Housing $43,500 $18,552 −$24,948
Groceries $5,247 $4,840 −$407
Transportation $5,125 $3,130 −$1,995
Utilities $3,804 $1,752 −$2,052
Insurance $1,500 $2,000 +$500
Taxes $25,449 $8,183 −$17,266
Total $84,625 $38,457 −$46,168

Side by side

MetricSan Jose, CAWinston, NC
Cost-of-living index113.191.6
Unemployment rate4.50%5.18%
Population growth (5-yr)0.6%3.0%
Air quality (median AQI)5150
Big Mac price (est.)$6.43$5.21
Median home price$1,610,466$283,871
Home price ÷ income10.6×4.7×
1-yr home appreciation-1.4%2.8%
Price per square foot$1074$142
Median rent$3,625$1,546
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%9.9%
Combined sales tax8.82%6.98%
Capital gains tax13.30%4.25%
Property tax rate0.71%0.77%
Healthcare (annual)$7,200$6,600
Childcare (annual, infant)$19,000$10,000
Vehicle property tax0.65%1.10%
Avg commute (min)2824
Home insurance / yr$1,500$2,000
Auto insurance / yr$2,400$1,400
Flood insurance / yr$750$800
Earthquake insurance / yr$950$100
Electricity ¢/kWh35.316.3
Gas $/gal4.853.20
Violent crime /100k500400
Avg summer high °F8489
Avg winter low °F4530
Permit difficulty (1–5)53

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