Winston-Salem vs Charlotte leftover
You'd keep $269 more a month in Charlotte
$2,576/mo leftover in Charlotte vs $2,307 in Winston-Salem after tax and rent ($269 more). +$3,228 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Winston-Salem leftover
$2,307
a month after tax and rent
Charlotte leftover
$2,576
+$269 vs Winston-Salem
Compare Winston-Salem to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Winston-Salem.
Monthly gap
Winston-Salem → Charlotte
$269
more / month in Charlotte
$2,576 in Charlotte · $2,307 in Winston-Salem · 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, 1,590 households moved Winston-Salem → Charlotte (avg AGI $56,459). 1,710 went the other way. The whole move →
+$269 / mo
| Per month | Winston-Salem | Charlotte | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,917 | $7,737 | +$821 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,601 | $1,879 | +$278 |
| Take-home pay | $5,316 | $5,858 | +$542 |
| Rent | $1,047 | $1,322 | +$275 |
| Getting around | $567 | $568 | +$1 |
| Groceries | $385 | $384 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $433 | $432 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $241 | $240 | −$1 |
| Everything else | $337 | $336 | −$1 |
| Left over | $2,307 | $2,576 | +$269 |
To break even in Charlotte, you'd need to earn
$88,000
Household gross, versus $83,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Winston-Salem does now.
The tax difference alone
−$418
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.1% in Winston-Salem, 24.3% in Charlotte.
More about Charlotte
Winston-Salem, NC in full
A flat 4.25% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,246 and 221 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 → Winston-Salem →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Charlotte than Winston-Salem?
A one-bedroom is about $1,047 in Winston-Salem versus $1,322 in Charlotte. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $269 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 Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem 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.