Cost of living comparison

compared to

North Carolina vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 24.6% cheaper than District of Columbia.

Restaurants: pay 22.8% less in North Carolina
Groceries: pay 14.1% less in North Carolina
Transportation: pay 15.8% less in North Carolina
Housing: pay 19.7% less in North Carolina
Childcare: pay 39.5% less in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% less in North Carolina
Clothing: pay 28.7% less in North Carolina

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, housing, and transportation are lower in North Carolina.

North Carolina vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Carolina instead of District of Columbia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.8% less for restaurants

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.00	$16.06	-35.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$10.06	-16.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.78	$2.31	-16.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22	$1.72	-22.2%
Average			-22.8%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.1% less for groceries

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$4.34	$3.48	-19.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.84	$6.25	-20.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.14	$3.46	-16.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.91	$3.28	-16.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.73	$4.77	-29.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70	$2.35	-12.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85	$0.74	-13.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.46	$2.18	-11.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59	$2.16	-16.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55	$1.51	-2.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.61	$1.66	+3.3%
Average			-14.1%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.8% less for transportation

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66	$3.19	-12.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$75.00	$53.89	-28.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,699.74	$34,400.31	-3.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.88	$19.36	-18.9%
Average			-15.8%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.7% less for housing

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.46	$72.47	+9.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,582.95	$1,527.81	-40.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,028.70	$1,294.23	-36.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$146.65	$130.82	-10.8%
Average			-19.7%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.5% less for childcare

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,273.25	$1,254.70	-44.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$38,250.00	$25,128.75	-34.3%
Average			-39.5%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.5% less for entertainment and sports

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$5.09	-36.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.55	$4.89	-11.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.75	$7.33	-37.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.36	$54.04	-49.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18	$13.35	-22.3%
Average			-31.5%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.7% less for clothing

	District of Columbia	North Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.13	$49.88	-32.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.77	$37.28	-26.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.47	$86.65	-17.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$178.48	$111.01	-37.8%
Average			-28.7%

District of Columbia vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

District of Columbia vs.

Connecticut

District of Columbia vs.

Michigan

District of Columbia vs.

Iowa

District of Columbia vs.

Oklahoma

District of Columbia vs.

Greece

District of Columbia vs.

Russia

District of Columbia vs.

Germany

District of Columbia vs.

Canada

Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for District of Columbia

Add prices for North Carolina

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about North Carolina or District of Columbia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.