West Virginia vs North Carolina

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in West Virginia is worth

$111,732

at national prices · RPP 89.5BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in North Carolina is worth

$106,045

at national prices · RPP 94.3BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes −$5,687 less far in North Carolina (−5.1% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

West Virginia: $100,000 ÷ (89.5 ÷ 100) = $111,732

North Carolina: $100,000 ÷ (94.3 ÷ 100) = $106,045

difference: $106,045 − $111,732 = −$5,687

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	West Virginia	North Carolina	Difference
All items	89.5	94.3	+5.4%
Housing rents	54.2	81.4	+50.2%
Goods	96.5	96.6	+0.1%
Utilities	92.2	88.6	−3.9%
Other services	99.9	98.2	−1.7%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

West VirginiaMedian rent$872/moMedian home$162,600

North CarolinaMedian rent$1,228/moMedian home$288,900

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	West Virginia	North Carolina
Income tax (top rate)	4.82%	3.99%
Sales tax (combined avg)	6.59%	7.00%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

West Virginia vs North Carolina: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from West Virginia to North Carolina and its purchasing power changes from $111,732 to $106,045 in national-average terms — a loss of $5,687. West Virginia is the cheaper of the two, running at 89.5 on the price index versus 94.3.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: West Virginia sits at 54.2 and North Carolina at 81.4 (100 = national). West Virginia has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $872 in West Virginia against $1,228 in North Carolina, and the typical home $162,600 versus $288,900. West Virginia is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, West Virginia has 4.82% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 6.59%; North Carolina has 3.99% top income tax and 7.00%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

Full profiles: West Virginia ·North Carolina. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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