Beckley vs Charleston leftover
You'd keep $89 more a month in Charleston
$2,265/mo leftover in Charleston vs $2,176 in Beckley after tax and rent ($89 more). +$1,068 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Beckley leftover
$2,176
a month after tax and rent
Charleston leftover
$2,265
+$89 vs Beckley
Compare Beckley to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Beckley.
Monthly gap
Beckley → Charleston
$89
more / month in Charleston
$2,265 in Charleston · $2,176 in Beckley · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 202 households moved Beckley → Charleston (avg AGI $41,609). 127 went the other way. The whole move →
+$89 / mo
| Per month | Beckley | Charleston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,542 | $6,861 | +$320 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,486 | $1,596 | +$110 |
| Take-home pay | $5,055 | $5,265 | +$209 |
| Rent | $853 | $1,011 | +$158 |
| Getting around | $611 | $574 | −$37 |
| Groceries | $390 | $390 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $439 | $439 | $0 |
| Utilities | $244 | $244 | $0 |
| Everything else | $342 | $342 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,176 | $2,265 | +$89 |
To break even in Charleston, you'd need to earn
$80,500
Household gross, versus $78,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Beckley does now.
The tax difference alone
−$185
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.7% in Beckley, 23.3% in Charleston.
More about Charleston
Beckley, WV in full
State income tax topping out at 4.82%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,015 and 190 sunny days; commutes average 26 minutes.
Charleston, WV in full
State income tax topping out at 4.82%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,204 and 188 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Charleston on Charleston wages.
Charleston → Beckley →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Charleston than Beckley?
A one-bedroom is about $853 in Beckley versus $1,011 in Charleston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $89 a month higher in Charleston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Charleston have state income tax?
Charleston is in West Virginia, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Beckley to Charleston?
Take-home pay is recalculated under West Virginia tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Beckley and Charleston moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.