Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 4.2% cheaper than Houston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.3% less in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 28.0% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 4.9% less in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 15.0% less in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 25.9% less in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.9% less in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 4.1% less in North Carolina
North Carolina vs. Houston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Houston, you would:
pay 8.3% less for restaurants
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.38
|
$17.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.14
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
|
$1.89
|
|
Houston vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.0% more for groceries
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.33
|
$3.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.66
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.25
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.48
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.78
|
$5.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.82
|
$2.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$2.22
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.71
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.79
|
|
Houston vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 4.9% less for transportation
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.48
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$58.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,232.00
|
$34,285.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.39
|
$19.96
|
|
Houston vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 15.0% less for housing
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.61
|
$65.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,678.93
|
$1,476.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,381.10
|
$1,144.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$160.23
|
$131.34
|
|
Houston vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 25.9% less for childcare
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,193.79
|
$1,224.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,233.33
|
$21,882.53
|
|
Houston vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 0.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.27
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.73
|
$8.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.21
|
$51.42
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$13.30
|
|
Houston vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.1% less for clothing
|
Houston
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.91
|
$52.53
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.00
|
$37.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.92
|
$88.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.80
|
$112.84
|
|
Houston 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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