Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York City vs. Chapel Hill Cost of Living Summary
New York City is 58.9% more expensive than Chapel Hill.
- Restaurants
-
pay 42.0% more in New York City
- Groceries
-
pay 14.1% more in New York City
- Transportation
-
pay 9.5% more in New York City
- Housing
-
pay 73.4% more in New York City
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in New York City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 79.8% more in New York City
- Clothing
-
pay 54.3% more in New York City
New York City vs. Chapel Hill Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York City instead of Chapel Hill, you would:
pay 42.0% more for restaurants
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$2.61
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.1% more for groceries
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$4.75
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.37
|
$8.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$6.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.67
|
$7.20
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.89
|
$7.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.00
|
$3.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$2.60
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$1.78
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of groceries
pay 9.5% more for transportation
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$3.47
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$132.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$36,344.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$22.39
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of transportation
pay 73.4% more for housing
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$67.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,320.00
|
$4,037.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,475.00
|
$2,496.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.18
|
$151.98
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,318.67
|
$3,154.10
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$57,250.00
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of childcare
pay 79.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.46
|
$5.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.99
|
$19.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.33
|
$150.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.00
|
$20.00
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 54.3% more for clothing
|
Chapel Hill
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.67
|
$67.80
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$30.00
|
$49.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.33
|
$115.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$82.50
|
$168.76
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. New York City - Cost of clothing
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: October 2026
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