Durham, North Carolina Cost Of Living

B+

3%

Overall NAT. AVG.

4%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

1%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2023; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Durham	North Carolina	National
Cost of living	97	94	100
Goods & Services	97	99	100
Groceries	100	98	100
Health care	117	110	100
Housing	99	85	100
Transportation	94	91	100
Utilities	88	95	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Durham is 4% higher than the North Carolina average
The cost of living in Durham is 3% lower than the national average
Durham housing is 1% lower than the national average
North Carolina general sales tax is 7% lower than the national average
North Carolina state income tax is 121% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$92,854	$7,738	$2,166	$2,786
Renters	$42,070	$3,506	$982	$1,262

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Durham, NC, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Durham, the median monthly income is $92,854 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $2,166 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $42,070, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $982 on monthly rental expenses.

North Carolina Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
North Carolina	4.75%	7.5%

North Carolina Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
North Carolina	4.99%	4.99%

Goods & Services

Item	Durham	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.26	$22.08	9.9%
Beauty Salon	$44.65	$42.88	4.1%
Toothpaste	$2.97	$2.57	15.8%
Shampoo	$1.08	$1.15	6.3%
Movie	$9.32	$11.51	19.0%
Bowling	$17.06	$16.62	2.7%

Groceries

Item	Durham	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.81	$4.98	16.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.22	$1.58	22.7%
Milk	$2.14	$2.42	11.7%
Potatoes	$5.06	$3.54	43.2%
Pizza	$10.01	$11.49	12.9%
Beer	$10.38	$10.04	3.3%

Health Care

Item	Durham	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$113.48	$117.76	3.6%
Doctor	$141.27	$125.34	12.7%
Dentist	$161.54	$107.52	50.2%
Ibuprofen	$9.54	$10.26	7.0%
Lipitor	$334.91	$459.24	27.1%

Housing

Item	Durham	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$243,000.00	$184,700.00	31.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,738.94	$1,697.41	2.4%
Apartment Rent	$1,098.00	$949.00	15.7%

Transportation

Item	Durham	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.96	$3.85	2.9%
Tire Balancing	$43.93	$57.01	22.9%

Utilities

Item	Durham	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$151.09	$177.27	14.8%
Phone	$175.22	$189.62	7.6%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Butner, NC	7,779	90	10.0%
Gorman, NC	979	91	9.1%
Stem, NC	1,169	92	8.1%
Efland, NC	804	91	9.3%
Creedmoor, NC	4,539	95	5.0%
Durham, NC	276,341	97	2.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Toledo, OH	275,116	83	16.7%
Irvine, CA	272,694	182	81.9%
Saskatoon, SK	281,340	n/a
Newark, NJ	281,917	111	10.6%
Chula Vista, CA	268,779	138	38.0%
Durham, NC	276,341	97	2.7%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2023; this is the most current data available.