North Carolina vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 4.4% cheaper than Austin.

Restaurants
pay 11.0% less in North Carolina
Groceries
pay 8.3% more in North Carolina
Transportation
pay 10.0% more in North Carolina
Housing
pay 11.7% less in North Carolina
Childcare
pay 0.9% more in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.4% less in North Carolina
Clothing
pay 17.9% less in North Carolina

The cost of transportation, groceries, and childcare in North Carolina are more expensive than in Austin. Expenses including clothing, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in North Carolina.

North Carolina vs. Austin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Carolina instead of Austin, you would:

pay 11.0% less for restaurants

 
Austin
North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$16.06
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$10.06
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.62
 
$2.31
 

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pay 8.3% more for groceries

 
Austin
North Carolina
Bread
1 loaf
$3.60
 
$3.48
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.37
 
$6.25
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.94
 
$3.46
 

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pay 10.0% more for transportation

 
Austin
North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.04
 
$3.19
 
Monthly public transit pass $45.00
 
$53.89
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,000.00
 
$34,400.31
 

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pay 11.7% less for housing

 
Austin
North Carolina
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.43
 
$72.47
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,280.66
 
$1,527.81
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,508.91
 
$1,294.23
 

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pay 0.9% more for childcare

 
Austin
North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,465.00
 
$1,254.70
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $21,625.00
 
$25,128.75
 

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pay 9.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Austin
North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$5.09
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.31
 
$4.89
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.00
 
$7.33
 

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pay 17.9% less for clothing

 
Austin
North Carolina
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$63.62
 
$49.88
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$52.38
 
$37.28
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$89.78
 
$86.65
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025
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