Greensboro, North Carolina Cost Of Living

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Overall 10%

Goods & Services 7%

Housing 19%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from C2ER in January, 2021; 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	Greensboro	North Carolina	National
Cost of living	90	94	100
Goods & Services	93	99	100
Groceries	99	98	100
Health care	110	110	100
Housing	81	85	100
Transportation	88	91	100
Utilities	94	95	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Greensboro is 4% lower than the North Carolina average
The cost of living in Greensboro is 10% lower than the national average
Greensboro housing is 19% lower than the national average
North Carolina general sales tax is 7% lower than the national average
North Carolina state income tax is 113% 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	$62,212	$5,184	$1,452	$1,867
Renters	$30,178	$2,515	$704	$905

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Greensboro, 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 Greensboro, the median monthly income is $62,212 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,452 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $30,178, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $704 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	5.25%	5.25%

Goods & Services

Item	Greensboro	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.66	$20.27	1.9%
Beauty Salon	$42.26	$40.39	4.6%
Toothpaste	$2.33	$2.36	1.1%
Shampoo	$1.18	$1.08	9.3%
Movie	$10.66	$10.99	3.0%
Bowling	$18.98	$15.49	22.5%

Groceries

Item	Greensboro	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.20	$4.30	2.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.30	$1.40	7.4%
Milk	$1.90	$2.20	13.7%
Potatoes	$2.98	$3.22	7.3%
Pizza	$8.25	$10.74	23.2%
Beer	$10.29	$9.60	7.2%

Health Care

Item	Greensboro	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$99.37	$109.73	9.4%
Doctor	$175.81	$118.34	48.6%
Dentist	$100.42	$100.94	0.5%
Ibuprofen	$10.46	$9.93	5.4%
Lipitor	$448.88	$469.53	4.4%

Housing

Item	Greensboro	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$148,500.00	$184,700.00	19.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$999.45	$1,229.62	18.7%
Apartment Rent	$787.00	$949.00	17.1%

Transportation

Item	Greensboro	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.46	$2.71	9.2%
Tire Balancing	$42.94	$51.86	17.2%

Utilities

Item	Greensboro	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$155.06	$170.84	9.2%
Phone	$183.03	$187.18	2.2%

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, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
McLeansville, NC	1,027	86	-14%
Trinity, NC	6,651	86	-14%
Archdale, NC	11,483	86	-14%
High Point, NC	108,982	88	-12%
Gibsonville, NC	6,759	90	-10%
Greensboro, NC	282,177	90	-10%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Toledo, OH	280,854	84	-16%
Newark, NJ	280,139	111	11%
Plano, TX	279,088	114	14%
Henderson, NV	277,872	109	9%
Lincoln, NE	273,018	93	-7%
Greensboro, NC	282,177	90	-10%

Source: The Greensboro, NC cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2020.