York, PA vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from York to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($309,967 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
York 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 York, PA, you'd need about $100,244 in Charlotte, NC (+$244).
Livability — York, PA: 66 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,823 sqft in York vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($177 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | York, PA | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,608 | $20,880 | +$4,272 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,834 | −$81 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,130 | −$310 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,752 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,000 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $9,160 | $8,740 | −$420 |
| Total | $37,639 | $41,336 | +$3,697 |
Side by side
| Metric | York, PA | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.1 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.60% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.4% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $309,967 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.6% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $177 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,384 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |