Tulsa, OK vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Tulsa to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($253,725 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Tulsa vs Detroit 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 Tulsa, OK, you'd need about $109,224 in Detroit, MI (+$9,224).
Livability — Tulsa, OK: 71 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,745 sqft in Tulsa vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($134 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tulsa, OK | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,224 | $18,000 | +$1,776 |
| Groceries | $4,667 | $4,896 | +$229 |
| Transportation | $3,575 | $4,575 | +$1,000 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $2,316 | +$876 |
| Insurance | $4,400 | $1,300 | −$3,100 |
| Taxes | $9,670 | $9,547 | −$122 |
| Total | $39,976 | $40,634 | +$659 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tulsa, OK | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.9 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.14% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.1% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.12 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $253,725 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $134 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,352 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.0% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.99% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.75% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.94% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $83 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 94 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.7 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |