Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Chapel Hill Cost of Living Summary
United States is 5.9% more expensive than Chapel Hill.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.5% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 16.7% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 2.9% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 13.7% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 5.2% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.2% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 15.3% more in United States
The cost of clothing, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Chapel Hill.
United States vs. Chapel Hill Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Chapel Hill, you would:
pay 14.5% more for restaurants
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$2.00
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.7% less for groceries
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.37
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.67
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.89
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.00
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$1.38
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 2.9% more for transportation
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$17.61
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 13.7% more for housing
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,320.00
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,475.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.18
|
$150.19
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 5.2% more for childcare
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,318.67
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$23,196.46
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 6.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.46
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.99
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.33
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.00
|
$13.64
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.3% more for clothing
|
Chapel Hill
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.67
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$30.00
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.33
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$82.50
|
$112.04
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. United States - 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: December 2025
Change currency:
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United States or Chapel Hill. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.