Cost of living comparison

compared to

Hickory vs. Berlin Cost of Living Summary

Hickory is 21.8% cheaper than Berlin.

Restaurants
pay 20.3% less in Hickory
Groceries
pay 13.1% less in Hickory
Transportation
pay 37.7% less in Hickory
Housing
pay 21.1% less in Hickory
Childcare
pay 95.5% more in Hickory
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.6% less in Hickory
Clothing
pay 60.5% less in Hickory

Expenses including clothing, transportation, housing, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Hickory. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Hickory.

Hickory vs. Berlin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Hickory instead of Berlin, you would:

pay 20.3% less for restaurants

 
Berlin
Hickory
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.07
$15.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.44
€12.05
$11.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.44
€3.09
$2.27
 

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pay 13.1% less for groceries

 
Berlin
Hickory
Bread
1 loaf
$2.40
€2.15
$3.69
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.59
€7.71
$5.29
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.72
€4.23
$3.19
 

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pay 37.7% less for transportation

 
Berlin
Hickory
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.66
€7.77
$3.22
 
Monthly public transit pass $70.54
€63.29
$45.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,914.63
€29,529.36
$35,535.00
 

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pay 21.1% less for housing

 
Berlin
Hickory
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.20
€43.24
$55.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,478.95
€1,326.84
$1,278.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,114.14
€999.55
$1,026.00
 

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pay 95.5% more for childcare

 
Berlin
Hickory
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $144.45
€129.59
$350.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,853.22
€14,222.71
$25,000.00
 

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pay 11.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Berlin
Hickory
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.43
€4.87
$5.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.34
€3.89
$4.90
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.53
€9.44
$7.95
 

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pay 60.5% less for clothing

 
Berlin
Hickory
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$95.44
€85.62
$40.33
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.03
€42.19
$20.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.60
€93.84
$40.00
 

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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