$100k salary, packing up from Chicago

change
Asheville, NC cityscape

swapping out of chicago

Asheville

nc · metro 417k

a dispatch from

asheville

NC

35.58°N

82.55°W

Asheville is what happens when a mountain town and an art school have a baby and raise it on craft beer. Downtown packs more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America, plus buskers on every corner and Art Deco buildings the Depression accidentally preserved (the city went broke before it could tear them down). The Biltmore, America's largest private home, looms on the edge of town like a stone-carved flex. Remote workers keep showing up, which is how you know.

metro417k

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$469

under Chicago, every month

The gap is real. Asheville costs noticeably less than Chicago, every month.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

20% cheaper than Chicago(vs $2,170/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$38/mo less in state tax than Chicago

vs 4.95% in Chicago

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$469 more than Chicago

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$430k

18% more expensive than Chicago

vs $365k in Chicago

05metro size

417k

vs 9.3M in Chicago

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Chicago only logs 153 pleasant days.

Lighter on events: Chicago packs 37.0× more into a month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

6% lower than Chicago

vs 70/100 in Chicago

Closest outdoor draw: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 74.8 mi.

·walk score®

63/100

37% lower than Chicago

vs 100/100 in Chicago

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

96% fewer than Chicago

vs 217 nonstops in Chicago

04 · see also

cities that play in asheville's register:

compare asheville with: