Raleigh, North Carolina Cost Of Living

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Overall 0%

Goods & Services 5%

Housing 13%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; 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	Raleigh	North Carolina	National
Cost of living	100	94	100
Goods & Services	95	99	100
Groceries	87	98	100
Health care	94	110	100
Housing	113	85	100
Transportation	96	91	100
Utilities	97	95	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Raleigh is 6% higher than the North Carolina average
The cost of living in Raleigh is equal to the national average
Raleigh housing is 13% higher 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	$85,177	$7,098	$1,987	$2,556
Renters	$40,132	$3,344	$936	$1,204

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Raleigh, NC, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Raleigh homeowners, is $85,177. This would allow for a maximum of $1,987 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $40,132 which would result in a maximum of $936 to be spent on rental costs.

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	Raleigh	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.17	$20.27	9.4%
Beauty Salon	$48.10	$40.39	19.1%
Toothpaste	$1.78	$2.36	24.4%
Shampoo	$0.99	$1.08	8.0%
Movie	$10.30	$10.99	6.3%
Bowling	$16.95	$15.49	9.4%

Groceries

Item	Raleigh	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.69	$4.30	14.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.05	$1.40	25.2%
Milk	$1.74	$2.20	21.2%
Potatoes	$3.57	$3.22	10.8%
Pizza	$10.67	$10.74	0.6%
Beer	$10.49	$9.60	9.3%

Health Care

Item	Raleigh	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$99.25	$109.73	9.5%
Doctor	$116.11	$118.34	1.9%
Dentist	$90.70	$100.94	10.1%
Ibuprofen	$9.28	$9.93	6.5%
Lipitor	$472.19	$469.53	0.6%

Housing

Item	Raleigh	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$218,200.00	$184,700.00	18.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,009.98	$1,229.62	17.9%
Apartment Rent	$966.00	$949.00	1.8%

Transportation

Item	Raleigh	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.60	$2.71	4.1%
Tire Balancing	$50.32	$51.86	3.0%

Utilities

Item	Raleigh	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$164.85	$170.84	3.5%
Phone	$183.30	$187.18	2.1%

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.
Garner, NC	27,625	94	6.3%
Clayton, NC	18,553	94	5.8%
Knightdale, NC	13,787	95	5.3%
Durham, NC	251,761	100	0.4%
Fuquay-Varina, NC	22,722	100	0.5%
Raleigh, NC	441,326	100	0.1%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Omaha, NE	443,072	92	8.0%
Laval, QC	445,050	n/a
Colorado Springs, CO	448,759	108	8.0%
Virginia Beach, VA	449,733	111	11.5%
Miami, FL	432,622	111	11.0%
Raleigh, NC	441,326	100	0.1%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.