BiggerPockets Money Podcast · Friday, July 10, 2026
A comparison between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Manhattan, Kansas, highlights how housing costs greatly influence overall spending. A couple without kids in Charlotte is estimated to spend $9,000 monthly, compared to $5,900 in Manhattan, Kansas, with housing being the primary factor in this $800 difference.
“So Charlotte, North Carolina, they have kids? No kids.”
“So Charlotte, North Carolina, we're looking at like $9,000 in spending. And if they move to Manhattan, Kansas, for that same middle quintile, we've got $5,900.”
“So that's $5,900 versus $6,700. That's $800 difference. Mostly driven by housing and a slight difference in transportation costs. But it doesn't seem like that much relative to the enormous jump in housing costs.”
“I bet you if you could buy a house for $100 grand in Manhattan, Kansas, and you compare that to the costs of buying a house for $600 grand in Charlotte, North Carolina, that that that's the ball game right there for that for that couple.”