Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 16.5% more expensive than Germany overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.2% less in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 41.4% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 28.4% less in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 42.8% more in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 72.9% more in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.3% more in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 21.9% less in North Carolina
North Carolina vs. Germany Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Germany, you would:
pay 9.2% less for restaurants
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.14
€14.42
|
$17.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.34
€11.02
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.38
€3.01
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
€2.62
|
$1.89
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.4% more for groceries
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.14
€1.91
|
$3.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.24
€6.46
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.98
€4.44
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.69
€3.30
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.17
€4.61
|
$5.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.44
€1.29
|
$2.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.91
€0.81
|
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.90
|
$2.22
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
€1.67
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.63
€0.56
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
€0.54
|
$1.79
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 28.4% less for transportation
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.07
€7.21
|
$3.48
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.73
€58.69
|
$58.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,242.72
€28,789.43
|
$34,285.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$26.60
€23.75
|
$19.96
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 42.8% more for housing
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$45.10
€40.27
|
$65.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$839.53
€749.61
|
$1,476.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$674.34
€602.12
|
$1,144.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$256.19
€228.75
|
$131.34
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 72.9% more for childcare
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$525.85
€469.53
|
$1,224.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,045.97
€15,220.29
|
$21,882.53
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 11.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.03
€4.49
|
$5.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.91
€3.49
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.66
€8.63
|
$8.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.74
€35.48
|
$51.42
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.03
€12.53
|
$13.30
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.9% less for clothing
|
Germany
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.23
€79.68
|
$52.53
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.05
€39.33
|
$37.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.05
€89.34
|
$88.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.94
€120.48
|
$112.84
|
|
Germany vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare countries by overall cost of living
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cost of living in Germany vs. United States.
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