Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Australia Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 1.5% cheaper than Australia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.8% less in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 16.6% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 14.1% less in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 6.6% more in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 13.7% less in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.6% less in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 22.8% less in North Carolina
North Carolina vs. Australia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Australia, you would:
pay 4.8% less for restaurants
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.42
A$26.21
|
$17.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.19
A$14.50
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
A$4.10
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
A$3.31
|
$1.89
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.6% more for groceries
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.64
A$3.76
|
$3.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.67
A$6.65
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.28
A$8.93
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.79
A$6.82
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.19
A$5.96
|
$5.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.62
A$2.30
|
$2.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.32
A$1.88
|
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.35
A$1.92
|
$2.22
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
A$2.93
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
A$1.69
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
A$1.49
|
$1.79
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 14.1% less for transportation
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.98
A$7.09
|
$3.48
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$91.09
A$129.61
|
$58.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,191.77
A$38,690.63
|
$34,285.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.22
A$24.51
|
$19.96
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 6.6% more for housing
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.16
A$81.33
|
$65.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,309.09
A$1,862.68
|
$1,476.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,073.97
A$1,528.13
|
$1,144.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.37
A$208.27
|
$131.34
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 13.7% less for childcare
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,957.92
A$2,785.89
|
$1,224.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,377.12
A$26,148.43
|
$21,882.53
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 17.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.20
A$10.24
|
$5.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
A$5.62
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$36.89
A$52.49
|
$8.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.05
A$79.76
|
$51.42
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.44
A$20.54
|
$13.30
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.8% less for clothing
|
Australia
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$77.86
A$110.79
|
$52.53
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.33
A$75.89
|
$37.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.59
A$160.20
|
$88.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.82
A$169.06
|
$112.84
|
|
Australia vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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