Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chapel Hill vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Chapel Hill is 19.8% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1% more in Chapel Hill
- Groceries
-
pay 44.5% more in Chapel Hill
- Transportation
-
pay 8.8% more in Chapel Hill
- Housing
-
pay 13.8% more in Chapel Hill
- Childcare
-
pay 67.3% more in Chapel Hill
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.4% more in Chapel Hill
- Clothing
-
pay 5.4% less in Chapel Hill
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Chapel Hill are more expensive than in Ottawa.
Chapel Hill vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chapel Hill instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 3.1% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$2.02
|
|
Ottawa vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of restaurants
pay 44.5% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$4.04
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$9.37
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$4.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$4.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
$6.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
$4.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$0.57
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$2.53
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$2.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$2.83
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$1.65
|
|
Ottawa vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of groceries
pay 8.8% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
$35,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of transportation
pay 13.8% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
$1,320.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
$1,475.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
$126.18
|
|
Ottawa vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of housing
pay 67.3% more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
$1,318.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
?? | |
Ottawa vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of childcare
pay 6.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$4.46
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
$8.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
$61.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
$11.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Chapel Hill - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.4% less for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Chapel Hill
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
$52.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
$98.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
$82.50
|
|
Ottawa 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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