What is the cost of living in Winston-Salem?

Winston-Salem has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 71.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $960/month.

What is the median salary in Winston-Salem?

The median salary in Winston-Salem is $63,918 annually (mean: $67,262). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.

How safe is Winston-Salem?

The violent crime rate in the Winston-Salem area is 365 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1930 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Winston-Salem?

The state of NC has 2,703 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Winston-Salem?

Infant center-based childcare in the Winston-Salem area averages $9,487 per year. Preschool averages $6,548/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Winston-Salem a good place to relocate?

Winston-Salem has a Life Score of 63.7/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Winston-Salem in the top decile of scored metros, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Where does Winston-Salem sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Winston-Salem ranks #82 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Winston-Salem, NC

LiveAbility 58.4/100 places Winston-Salem #82 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.0
Cost index (US=100): $960
2BR rent / mo: $63,918
Median salary: 58.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Winston-Salem ranks #82 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (58.4/100), with its strongest marks in housing and safety.

#82
of 387 US metros · Above median: 11,046,024
metro-area population: 365
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,703
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (20/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Winston-Salem ranks #82 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $960/mo, median salary $63,918; LiveAbility Score 58.4/100, strongest in housing and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 58.4/100 places Winston-Salem #82 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.0 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $960/mo.

LiveAbility 58.4/100 puts Winston-Salem in the top third (#82 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Winston-Salem area is 259,100.

Winston-Salem vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

58 Top 21% higher than 79% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Winston-Salem housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Winston-Salem MSA; housing RPP 71.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $960/mo.

Studio

$816

/month

1 Bedroom

$876

/month

2 Bedroom

$960

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,316

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,591

/month

Winston-Salem wages and employment

Winston-Salem posts 259,100 total employment with median salary $63,918.

Median Salary

$63,918

Mean Salary

$67,262

Total Employment

259,100

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$86,120
Retail Salespersons	$30,100
Cashiers	$28,130
Cooks, Fast Food	$27,280
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$37,160

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Winston-Salem area from NCES.

Schools

2,703

Enrollment

1,544,406

Student:Teacher

15.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Winston-Salem area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Winston-Salem's composite Life Score is 63.7/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

62/100

Above average

Wages

36/100

Below average

Rent

97/100

Elite

Crime

92/100

Elite

Schools

62/100

Above average

Childcare

57/100

Above average

Environment

37/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Winston-Salem ranks #82 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 58.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (97/100)

Housing

97
Safety

92
Climate

70
Cost of living

62
Low hazard

40
Schools

38
Job market

36
Air quality

20

What this shows Winston-Salem's strongest dimensions are housing and safety; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 20/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Winston-Salem to

Victoria Vineland Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk Visalia Waco Walla Walla

Metros near Winston-Salem on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Winston-Salem on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Winston-Salem cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Winston-Salem wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Winston-Salem?

Winston-Salem runs a $63,918 median salary at a 92.0 cost index, ranking #82 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Winston-Salem's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Winston-Salem head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Winston-Salem
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.