Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chapel Hill vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Chapel Hill is 21.3% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.5% less in Chapel Hill
- Groceries
-
pay 85.2% more in Chapel Hill
- Transportation
-
pay 33.3% less in Chapel Hill
- Housing
-
pay 24.8% more in Chapel Hill
- Childcare
-
pay 95.9% more in Chapel Hill
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.0% more in Chapel Hill
- Clothing
-
pay 29.2% less in Chapel Hill
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in Chapel Hill are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Chapel Hill. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in Chapel Hill.
Chapel Hill vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chapel Hill instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 17.5% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$2.02
|
|
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of restaurants
pay 85.2% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$4.04
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$9.37
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$4.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$4.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$6.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$4.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.57
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$2.53
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$2.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$2.83
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$1.65
|
|
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of groceries
pay 33.3% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$35,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
?? | |
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of transportation
pay 24.8% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$1,320.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$1,475.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$126.18
|
|
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of housing
pay 95.9% more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$1,318.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
?? | |
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of childcare
pay 23.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$4.46
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$8.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$61.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$11.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.2% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$52.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$98.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$82.50
|
|
Madrid vs. Chapel Hill - 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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