Texas vs. North Carolina Cost of Living Summary

Texas is 4.4% cheaper than North Carolina.

Restaurants
pay 4.3% more in Texas
Groceries
pay 17.4% less in Texas
Transportation
pay 1.6% more in Texas
Housing
pay 3.7% less in Texas
Childcare
pay 3.7% more in Texas
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.9% less in Texas
Clothing
pay 1.4% more in Texas

The cost of restaurants, childcare, transportation, and clothing in Texas are more expensive than in North Carolina. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Texas.

Texas vs. North Carolina Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Texas instead of North Carolina, you would:

pay 4.3% more for restaurants

 
North Carolina
Texas
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.13
 
$18.27
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.72
 
$10.78
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
 
$2.64
 

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pay 17.4% less for groceries

 
North Carolina
Texas
Bread
1 loaf
$3.91
 
$3.10
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.07
 
$5.50
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.68
 
$3.48
 

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pay 1.6% more for transportation

 
North Carolina
Texas
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.48
 
$3.39
 
Monthly public transit pass $58.44
 
$69.39
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,285.88
 
$34,000.11
 

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pay 3.7% less for housing

 
North Carolina
Texas
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$65.72
 
$69.36
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,476.83
 
$1,288.10
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,144.24
 
$1,094.27
 

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pay 3.7% more for childcare

 
North Carolina
Texas
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,224.94
 
$1,337.77
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $21,882.53
 
$21,554.28
 

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pay 3.9% less for entertainment and sports

 
North Carolina
Texas
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.39
 
$5.59
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.21
 
$5.42
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.25
 
$9.01
 

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pay 1.4% more for clothing

 
North Carolina
Texas
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.53
 
$51.06
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.74
 
$40.03
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.04
 
$90.51
 

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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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