Seattle, WA vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Seattle to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Seattle vs Charlotte 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $86,332 in Charlotte, NC (−$13,668).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($417 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $20,880 | −$5,904 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,834 | −$571 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,130 | −$945 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,752 | +$204 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,000 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $8,740 | −$86 |
| Total | $48,138 | $41,336 | −$6,802 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $195 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |