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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Oklahoma City to Winston-Salem

Oklahoma City, OK vs Winston-Salem, NC

Simple answer

You'd likely save $68 a month in Oklahoma City.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $68: Winston-Salem is higher at $1,332 versus $1,264.

Oklahoma taxes wages at rates up to 4.50%. North Carolina taxes wages at a flat 3.99%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.1 percentage points, higher in Oklahoma. The effective property tax gap is 0.14 percentage points, higher in Oklahoma.

After a move from Oklahoma to North Carolina, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Oklahoma City lines up with about $76,356 in Winston-Salem on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City, OK

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,264
HUD area
Oklahoma City, OK HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,162
All-items price parity
90.4
Goods price parity
93.8
Utilities price parity
74.1
Mean commute
23.5 min
Median household income
$72,930

Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem, NC

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,332
HUD area
Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,102
All-items price parity
92.0
Goods price parity
96.6
Utilities price parity
88.4
Mean commute
23.8 min
Median household income
$65,903

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$76,356

Salary in Winston-Salem that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$76,080

Gross salary in Winston-Salem whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$79,035

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxOklahomaNorth Carolina
State income tax on wagesup to 4.50%3.99% flat
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20269.1%7.0%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.75%0.61%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $3,011 a year in Oklahoma and $2,455 in North Carolina. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in North Carolina

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Oklahoma and once in North Carolina. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • WIC

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • School meals

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    Oklahoma CityMaybe

    Winston-SalemMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    Oklahoma CityUnlikely

    Winston-SalemUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    Oklahoma CityLikely eligible

    Winston-SalemLikely eligible

  • SSI

    Oklahoma CityUnlikely

    Winston-SalemUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for North Carolina · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Oklahoma City

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Oklahoma City.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.