Hickory vs Charlotte leftover
You'd keep $467 more a month in Charlotte
$2,559/mo leftover in Charlotte vs $2,092 in Hickory after tax and rent ($467 more). +$5,604 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Hickory leftover
$2,092
a month after tax and rent
Charlotte leftover
$2,559
+$467 vs Hickory
Compare Hickory to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Hickory.
Monthly gap
Hickory → Charlotte
$467
more / month in Charlotte
$2,559 in Charlotte · $2,092 in Hickory · 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, 1,570 households moved Hickory → Charlotte (avg AGI $60,567). 2,092 went the other way. The whole move →
+$467 / mo
| Per month | Hickory | Charlotte | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,792 | $7,711 | +$919 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,558 | $1,870 | +$312 |
| Take-home pay | $5,233 | $5,841 | +$608 |
| Rent | $1,142 | $1,322 | +$180 |
| Getting around | $605 | $568 | −$37 |
| Groceries | $385 | $384 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $433 | $432 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $241 | $240 | −$1 |
| Everything else | $337 | $336 | −$1 |
| Left over | $2,092 | $2,559 | +$467 |
To break even in Charlotte, you'd need to earn
$84,000
Household gross, versus $81,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Hickory does now.
The tax difference alone
−$469
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.9% in Hickory, 24.3% in Charlotte.
More about Charlotte
Hickory, NC in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,360 and 223 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
Charlotte, NC in full
A banking hub with a 4.25% flat tax and mild winters.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Charlotte on Charlotte wages.
Charlotte → Hickory →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Charlotte than Hickory?
A one-bedroom is about $1,142 in Hickory versus $1,322 in Charlotte. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $467 a month higher in Charlotte. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Charlotte have state income tax?
Charlotte is in North Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Hickory to Charlotte?
Take-home pay is recalculated under North Carolina 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 Hickory and Charlotte 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.