Raleigh vs. Albuquerque Cost of Living Summary

Raleigh is 23.4% more expensive than Albuquerque.

Restaurants
pay 18.2% more in Raleigh
Groceries
pay 7.5% more in Raleigh
Transportation
pay 84.4% more in Raleigh
Housing
pay 26.9% more in Raleigh
Childcare
pay 1.9% less in Raleigh
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2% less in Raleigh
Clothing
pay 9.4% more in Raleigh

The cost of transportation, housing, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in Raleigh are more expensive than in Albuquerque. Expenses including entertainment and sports and childcare are lower in Raleigh. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Raleigh.

Raleigh vs. Albuquerque Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Raleigh instead of Albuquerque, you would:

pay 18.2% more for restaurants

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.00
 
$23.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$11.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.94
 
$2.86
 

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pay 7.5% more for groceries

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Bread
1 loaf
$3.23
 
$3.89
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.91
 
$7.70
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.62
 
$3.44
 

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pay 84.4% more for transportation

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.75
 
$3.74
 
Monthly public transit pass $4.00
 
$40.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,680.00
 
$35,749.00
 

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pay 26.9% more for housing

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.44
 
$66.38
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,167.38
 
$1,728.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,117.78
 
$1,281.20
 

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pay 1.9% less for childcare

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,500.00
 
$1,485.59
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,175.33
 
$24,442.50
 

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pay 2.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.00
 
$5.77
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.42
 
$9.68
 

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pay 9.4% more for clothing

 
Albuquerque
Raleigh
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$54.31
 
$54.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.63
 
$57.78
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.18
 
$92.78
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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