Cost of living comparison
North Carolina vs. Palau Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 26.7% more expensive than Palau overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.3% more in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 22.1% less in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 8.6% less in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 88.9% more in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 4.9 times more in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.6% more in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 44.7% less in North Carolina
The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in North Carolina are more expensive than in Palau. Expenses including clothing, groceries, and transportation are lower in North Carolina. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in North Carolina.
North Carolina vs. Palau Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Palau, you would:
pay 28.3% more for restaurants
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.50
|
$17.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.37
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.07
|
$1.89
|
|
pay 22.1% less for groceries
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.44
|
$3.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.00
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.97
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.45
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.30
|
$5.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.40
|
$2.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$2.22
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$7.50
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$1.79
|
|
pay 8.6% less for transportation
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.34
|
$3.48
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$58.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$17,500.00
|
$34,285.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$19.96
|
|
pay 88.9% more for housing
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$199.00
|
$65.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$725.00
|
$1,476.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$525.00
|
$1,144.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$131.34
|
|
pay 4.9 times more for childcare
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$250.00
|
$1,224.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$21,882.53
|
|
pay 19.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.50
|
$5.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.08
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.00
|
$8.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$80.00
|
$51.42
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$13.30
|
|
pay 44.7% less for clothing
|
Palau
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$85.00
|
$52.53
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$65.00
|
$37.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$195.00
|
$88.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$195.00
|
$112.84
|
|
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
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