Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Chapel Hill Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 40.2% more expensive than Chapel Hill.
- Restaurants
-
pay 43.0% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 0.8% less in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 9.7% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 38.2% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 47.1% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 43.3% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, housing, and transportation in Washington are more expensive than in Chapel Hill. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Chapel Hill Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Chapel Hill, you would:
pay 43.0% more for restaurants
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$2.79
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.8% less for groceries
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.37
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.67
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.89
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.00
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$1.64
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 9.7% more for transportation
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$16.73
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 38.2% more for housing
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,320.00
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,475.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.18
|
$146.54
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,318.67
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$40,166.67
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 47.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.46
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.99
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.33
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.00
|
$16.75
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 43.3% more for clothing
|
Chapel Hill
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.67
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$30.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.33
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$82.50
|
$133.22
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. Washington - 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
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