Tampa, FL vs Hickory, NC
Moving from Tampa to Hickory? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $271,739 median home) and taxes.
Tampa vs Hickory 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $87,217 in Hickory, NC (−$12,783).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Hickory, NC: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 3,679 sqft in Hickory ($195 vs $136 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Hickory, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $17,952 | −$6,264 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,840 | −$109 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,130 | −$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,752 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,000 | −$2,200 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $7,879 | +$3,237 |
| Total | $44,463 | $37,553 | −$6,910 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Hickory, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 5.52% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 46 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $271,739 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 4.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 2.3% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $136 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $1,496 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.69% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |