City comparison
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Charlotte | Winston-Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,399/mo | $956/mo | 46.3% higher in A |
| Median home value | $312,800 | $187,400 | 66.9% higher in A |
| Median household income | $74,070 | $54,416 | 36.1% higher in A |
| Groceries index | 102.4 | 97.2 | 5.4% higher in A |
| Utilities index | 100.3 | 93.5 | 7.2% higher in A |
| Transportation index | 88.7 | 79.8 | 11.2% higher in A |
| Healthcare index | 105.6 | 91.6 | 15.3% higher in A |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Charlotte, you'd need $80,915 in Winston-Salem to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Winston-Salem, NC is about 19.1% cheaper overall than Charlotte, NC, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 32% lower in Winston-Salem than in Charlotte. If you earn $80,000 in Charlotte, you'd need about $64,732 in Winston-Salem to keep the same standard of living.