Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Jersey vs. North Carolina Cost of Living Summary
New Jersey is 25.7% more expensive than North Carolina.
New Jersey vs. North Carolina Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Jersey instead of North Carolina, you would:
pay 10.4% more for restaurants
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.13
|
$19.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.72
|
$12.13
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.49
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.89
|
$1.74
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.9% more for groceries
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.91
|
$4.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.07
|
$6.84
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.68
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$5.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.37
|
$5.59
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.40
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
$1.09
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.33
|
$2.41
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$1.51
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.79
|
$1.57
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries
pay 21.7% more for transportation
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.48
|
$3.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.44
|
$114.22
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,285.88
|
$33,697.81
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.96
|
$19.06
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation
pay 48.0% more for housing
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.72
|
$58.90
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,476.83
|
$2,298.53
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,144.24
|
$1,927.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.34
|
$142.49
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing
pay 33.1% more for childcare
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,224.94
|
$1,975.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,882.53
|
$24,015.26
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare
pay 20.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.39
|
$7.10
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.25
|
$13.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.42
|
$55.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.30
|
$16.84
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.0% more for clothing
|
North Carolina
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.53
|
$52.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.74
|
$53.93
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.04
|
$90.27
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.84
|
$121.55
|
|
North Carolina vs. New Jersey - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: North Carolina vs. New Jersey
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in New Jersey?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics
Be 32.4% more likely to be unemployed in New Jersey
→
Size Comparison · See true size
North Carolina is about 7 times bigger than New Jersey.
→
Moving from North Carolina to New Jersey · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Raleigh vs Trenton
→
Explore more U.S. state comparisons
See how other U.S. states compare.
Browse all state comparisons.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Jersey or North Carolina. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.