Cost of living comparison
compared to
Raleigh vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Raleigh is 26.8% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.4% less in Raleigh
- Groceries
-
pay 63.4% more in Raleigh
- Transportation
-
pay 19.0% less in Raleigh
- Housing
-
pay 33.8% more in Raleigh
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Raleigh
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.8% more in Raleigh
- Clothing
-
pay 6.4% less in Raleigh
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in Raleigh are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Raleigh. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Raleigh.
Raleigh vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Raleigh instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 8.4% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$2.07
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - Cost of restaurants
pay 63.4% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$4.07
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$6.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$3.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$4.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$5.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$2.89
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$2.57
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$2.94
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$1.93
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - Cost of groceries
pay 19.0% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$3.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
$45.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$34,689.37
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
$14.90
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - Cost of transportation
pay 33.8% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$67.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$1,775.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$1,470.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$142.76
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$1,490.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
$24,083.25
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - Cost of childcare
pay 21.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$5.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$7.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$40.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$15.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.4% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$51.78
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$48.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$103.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$137.22
|
|
Madrid vs. Raleigh - 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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