Cost of living comparison

compared to

North Carolina vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 29.3% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 47.8% less in North Carolina
Groceries: pay 5.9% less in North Carolina
Transportation: pay 43.1% less in North Carolina
Housing: pay 1.5% less in North Carolina
Childcare: pay 34.3% less in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.6% less in North Carolina
Clothing: pay 43.0% less in North Carolina

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

North Carolina vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 47.8% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.66 CHF25.14	$16.06	-41.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.97 CHF15.42	$10.06	-40.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.67 CHF4.25	$2.31	-50.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.13 CHF3.75	$1.72	-58.2%
Average			-47.8%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.9% less for groceries

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$3.64 CHF3.31	$3.48	-4.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.22 CHF12.01	$6.25	-52.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.31 CHF6.64	$3.46	-52.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.80 CHF6.17	$3.28	-51.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.89 CHF11.71	$4.77	-63.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 CHF1.38	$2.35	+55.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 CHF0.94	$0.74	-28.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.31 CHF1.19	$2.18	+65.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.85 CHF2.59	$2.16	-24.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.12 CHF1.01	$1.51	+35.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07 CHF0.97	$1.66	+55.5%
Average			-5.9%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.1% less for transportation

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.83 CHF7.12	$3.19	-59.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$114.11 CHF103.69	$53.89	-52.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,806.66 CHF33,443.89	$34,400.31	-6.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$42.03 CHF38.19	$19.36	-53.9%
Average			-43.1%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.5% less for housing

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.46 CHF48.57	$72.47	+35.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,622.75 CHF1,474.49	$1,527.81	-5.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,411.84 CHF1,282.85	$1,294.23	-8.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$180.02 CHF163.57	$130.82	-27.3%
Average			-1.5%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.3% less for childcare

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,587.05 CHF2,350.69	$1,254.70	-51.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,321.56 CHF27,551.29	$25,128.75	-17.1%
Average			-34.3%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.82 CHF7.11	$5.09	-34.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.42 CHF4.92	$4.89	-9.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.09 CHF9.17	$7.33	-27.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.49 CHF80.40	$54.04	-38.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.15 CHF19.22	$13.35	-36.9%
Average			-29.6%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.0% less for clothing

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$121.70 CHF110.58	$49.88	-59.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.65 CHF56.02	$37.28	-39.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$136.06 CHF123.63	$86.65	-36.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$176.75 CHF160.60	$111.01	-37.2%
Average			-43.0%

Switzerland 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

Switzerland vs.

California

Switzerland vs.

Connecticut

Switzerland vs.

Illinois

Switzerland vs.

Wisconsin

Switzerland vs.

Iceland

Switzerland vs.

Ireland

Switzerland vs.

Germany

Switzerland vs.

Peru

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Switzerland vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Switzerland and United States.

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 Switzerland

Add prices for North Carolina

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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