Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 17.0% cheaper than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 18.4% less in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 5.3% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 2.1% less in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 14.9% less in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 37.7% less in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.9% less in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 20.6% less in North Carolina
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, housing, and transportation are lower in North Carolina.
North Carolina vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 18.4% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$17.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.47
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$1.82
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.3% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$3.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$6.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$3.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$3.98
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.74
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.80
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 2.1% less for transportation
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$60.67
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$33,588.64
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$19.99
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 14.9% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$72.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$1,488.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$1,261.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$132.31
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 37.7% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$1,261.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$24,633.15
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 30.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$5.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$4.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$7.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$48.40
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$12.98
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.6% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$49.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$37.76
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$88.37
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$111.01
|
|
Chicago vs. North Carolina - 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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