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City cost of living 2026

Cost of living in Winston-Salem, NC

The Winston-Salem, NC metro area (705,187 people) ranks #125 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.

By Data reviewed Data: Census ACS, BEA, BLS, NOAA, IRS, FEMA (methodology)

New York, NY: price level 112.6Los Angeles, CA: price level 113.6Chicago, IL: price level 103.6Dallas, TX: price level 103.1Houston, TX: price level 98.6Miami, FL: price level 114.2Washington, D.C.: price level 108.9Atlanta, GA: price level 100.1Philadelphia, PA: price level 102.6Phoenix, AZ: price level 103.3Boston, MA: price level 108.3Riverside, CA: price level 106.4San Francisco, CA: price level 115.6Detroit, MI: price level 100.3Seattle, WA: price level 111.1Minneapolis, MN: price level 104.8Tampa, FL: price level 100.9San Diego, CA: price level 111.9Denver, CO: price level 105.8Orlando, FL: price level 101.4Charlotte, NC: price level 97.3Baltimore, MD: price level 104.5St. Louis, MO: price level 95.1San Antonio, TX: price level 94.7Austin, TX: price level 98.1Portland, OR: price level 105.4Sacramento, CA: price level 106.7Pittsburgh, PA: price level 94.7Las Vegas, NV: price level 100.2Cincinnati, OH: price level 95.4Kansas City, MO: price level 92.5Columbus, OH: price level 95.5Indianapolis, IN: price level 95.7Cleveland, OH: price level 93.9Nashville, TN: price level 96.3San Jose, CA: price level 110.4Virginia Beach, VA: price level 97.9Jacksonville, FL: price level 99.5Providence, RI: price level 101.8Milwaukee, WI: price level 96.9Raleigh, NC: price level 98.2Oklahoma City, OK: price level 90.4Louisville, KY: price level 93.1Richmond, VA: price level 97.9Memphis, TN: price level 92.2Salt Lake City, UT: price level 100.9Birmingham, AL: price level 91.6Fresno, CA: price level 102.2Grand Rapids, MI: price level 95.5Hartford, CT: price level 102.7Buffalo, NY: price level 95.8Tucson, AZ: price level 96.9Tulsa, OK: price level 89.2Rochester, NY: price level 97.0Omaha, NE: price level 91.9Honolulu, HI: price level 111.0Greenville, SC: price level 93.3Bridgeport, CT: price level 106.9New Orleans, LA: price level 92.6Knoxville, TN: price level 92.6Sarasota, FL: price level 102.4Albuquerque, NM: price level 95.5Bakersfield, CA: price level 100.9McAllen, TX: price level 85.9Albany, NY: price level 99.6Allentown, PA: price level 100.0Baton Rouge, LA: price level 90.8Worcester, MA: price level 102.5El Paso, TX: price level 89.9Columbia, SC: price level 93.7Charleston, SC: price level 101.0Cape Coral, FL: price level 102.3Lakeland, FL: price level 97.1Boise, ID: price level 98.4Oxnard, CA: price level 110.5Dayton, OH: price level 92.7Stockton, CA: price level 105.1Greensboro, NC: price level 92.9Colorado Springs, CO: price level 100.7Little Rock, AR: price level 89.4Provo, UT: price level 98.2Des Moines, IA: price level 91.7Daytona Beach, FL: price level 99.4Poughkeepsie, NY: price level 109.4Madison, WI: price level 97.3Winston-Salem, NC: price level 92.0Akron, OH: price level 93.4Ogden, UT: price level 100.3Wichita, KS: price level 88.9Palm Bay, FL: price level 100.0Syracuse, NY: price level 95.7Augusta, GA: price level 91.9Durham, NC: price level 97.6Harrisburg, PA: price level 98.7Jackson, MS: price level 89.0Fayetteville, AR: price level 91.4Spokane, WA: price level 100.3Toledo, OH: price level 91.5Chattanooga, TN: price level 91.5New Haven, CT: price level 104.6Reno, NV: price level 101.0Portland, ME: price level 101.9Port St. Lucie, FL: price level 100.2Huntsville, AL: price level 93.1Pensacola, FL: price level 97.7Lexington, KY: price level 92.9Killeen, TX: price level 91.1Springfield, MO: price level 88.6Santa Rosa, CA: price level 107.8Wilmington, NC: price level 96.4Fort Wayne, IN: price level 92.6Vallejo, CA: price level 108.5Santa Barbara, CA: price level 108.8Salinas, CA: price level 109.0Savannah, GA: price level 95.2Manchester, NH: price level 105.7Ocala, FL: price level 95.2Asheville, NC: price level 96.5Naples, FL: price level 103.2Myrtle Beach, SC: price level 93.6Anchorage, AK: price level 105.4Spartanburg, SC: price level 91.1Fayetteville, NC: price level 92.0Trenton, NJ: price level 103.2Eugene, OR: price level 101.6Fort Collins, CO: price level 101.1Ann Arbor, MI: price level 100.9Greeley, CO: price level 100.2Gainesville, FL: price level 96.7Clarksville, TN: price level 90.9Boulder, CO: price level 105.2Columbus, GA: price level 89.3Crestview, FL: price level 97.0Sioux Falls, SD: price level 90.6Olympia, WA: price level 103.7Norwich, CT: price level 100.4Bremerton, WA: price level 105.6Fargo, ND: price level 90.9Bend, OR: price level 103.6Daphne, AL: price level 94.7Prescott, AZ: price level 98.3Hilton Head Island, SC: price level 98.0Burlington, VT: price level 100.9Panama City, FL: price level 97.3Jacksonville, NC: price level 92.1Punta Gorda, FL: price level 100.5Billings, MT: price level 93.5The Villages, FL: price level 85.4Cheyenne, WY: price level 96.5

Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.

Price level of the 149 metros we cover
See all 149 cities

Price level, from cheaper to pricier.

Salary to match $75k
$71,300
vs. an average-priced, no-income-tax area
Median rent
$1,102
per month · need $44,080 income
Median home
$270,700
need about $72,140 to buy

Compare Winston-Salem with your city

See what you'd need to earn in Winston-Salem to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from Greensboro, NC, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.

Equal salary in Winston-Salem: $64,300

Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities

To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $64,300 in Winston-Salem, NC to match $65,000 in Greensboro, NC ($700 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.

Single filer, W-2 salary. Both are in North Carolina, so state income tax is the same; neither city levies a resident income tax.

Take-home in Greensboro
$52,323
19.5% total tax
Take-home in Winston-Salem
$52,323
19.5% total tax
Prices in Winston-Salem
-1.0%
vs Greensboro (BEA 2024)
Renting: change after selected costs
+$828
per year, after taxes, rent and power; excludes food, transport, healthcare, child care and moving costs

See the full Greensboro to Winston-Salem report

What things cost in Winston-Salem

Price level by category (U.S. = 100)
Below the U.S. average
Overall92.0
Housing71.4
Goods96.6
Utilities88.4
Other services98.2

The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.

Taxes in Winston-Salem

On a $65,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $52,323 after 2026 federal tax ($5,620), Social Security and Medicare ($4,973) and North Carolina income tax ($2,085).

Housing

MeasureWinston-Salem area
Median rent$1,102/mo
Median home value$270,700
Median property tax$1,644/yr
Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down)$1,683
Median household income$65,903

Climate and jobs in Winston-Salem

In the Winston-Salem area the average January low is 31°F and the average July high 88°F, and the area has about 33 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 3.9% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $46,380 a year, 9% below the U.S. median.

Climate in the Winston-Salem area: NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Climate1991–2020 average
January low31°F
July high88°F
Days 90°F or hotter33 a year
Precipitation43 in a year
Snowfall6.2 in a year
Jobs and pay in the Winston-Salem area compared with the U.S. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobs and payMetro areaU.S.
Unemployment rate, 2025 average3.9%4.3%
Median wage, all jobs (May 2025)$46,380$50,980
Wage and salary jobs (May 2025)271,980155.5 million

Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Winston Salem Reynolds Airport station (USW00093807), with snowfall from King (USC00314675) because the main station doesn't record it. Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Retiring in Winston-Salem

A single retiree spends about $2,918 a month here if they own their home outright, or $3,590 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.

Where people move to and from Winston-Salem

Leaving Winston-Salem for… (households)
Greensboro3,004
Charlotte1,590
Raleigh449
Wilmington230
Durham227
Atlanta119
Washington, D.C.119
Myrtle Beach101
Moving to Winston-Salem from… (households)
Greensboro3,447
Charlotte1,710
Raleigh385
New York212
Durham182
Miami178
Wilmington122
Atlanta109

IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.

Natural hazard risk

FEMA rates the Winston-Salem area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 81 of 100), with expected losses of about $299 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in North Carolina.

Highest relative risks (national percentile)
Higher risk than most U.S. counties
Ice storm94
Riverine flooding87
Hurricane83
Cold wave81
Tornado81

The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to live in Winston-Salem?

To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $71,300 in Winston-Salem. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $44,080, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $72,140.

Is Winston-Salem expensive?

The Winston-Salem metro area's price level is 92.0 (U.S. = 100), #125 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 71.4, 29% below the U.S. average.

Are people moving to Winston-Salem?

Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Winston-Salem had a net gain of about 796 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).

What is the weather like in Winston-Salem?

In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Winston-Salem area (Winston Salem Reynolds Airport weather station), the average January low is 31°F and the average July high 88°F. The area has about 33 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 43 inches of precipitation a year and about 6.2 inches of snow.

What are jobs and pay like in Winston-Salem?

The Winston-Salem metro area's unemployment rate averaged 3.9% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $46,380 a year in May 2025, 9% below the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What natural disasters affect Winston-Salem?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 81). The highest relative risks are ice storm, riverine flooding, hurricane.

Compare Winston-Salem with other cities

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