Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York City vs. Durham Cost of Living Summary
New York City is 77.5% more expensive than Durham.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.0% more in New York City
- Groceries
-
pay 3.5% more in New York City
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5 times more in New York City
- Housing
-
pay 48.6% more in New York City
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in New York City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 94.5% more in New York City
- Clothing
-
pay 73.9% more in New York City
New York City vs. Durham Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York City instead of Durham, you would:
pay 34.0% more for restaurants
|
Durham
|
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) |
$2.79
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$2.61
|
|
Durham vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.5% more for groceries
|
Durham
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.55
|
$4.75
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.88
|
$8.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$6.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.42
|
$7.20
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.75
|
$7.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.31
|
$3.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.17
|
$1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$2.60
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$3.62
|
$1.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$1.78
|
|
Durham vs. New York City - Cost of groceries
pay 2.5 times more for transportation
|
Durham
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.05
|
$3.47
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.00
|
$132.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$36,344.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$22.39
|
|
Durham vs. New York City - Cost of transportation
pay 48.6% more for housing
|
Durham
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.17
|
$67.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,850.00
|
$4,037.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,433.33
|
$2,496.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$173.52
|
$151.98
|
|
Durham vs. New York City - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
Durham
|
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
|
|
Durham vs. New York City - Cost of childcare
pay 94.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Durham
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.83
|
$5.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$19.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.75
|
$150.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$20.00
|
|
Durham vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 73.9% more for clothing
|
Durham
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$36.66
|
$67.80
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.33
|
$49.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.50
|
$115.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.67
|
$168.76
|
|
Durham 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: July 2026
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