Cost of living comparison

Poland

compared to

North Carolina, USA

North Carolina vs. Poland Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 68.2% more expensive than Poland overall.

Restaurants: pay 43.5% more in North Carolina
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in North Carolina
Transportation: pay 8.4% more in North Carolina
Housing: pay 90.3% more in North Carolina
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.8% more in North Carolina
Clothing: pay 5.1% less in North Carolina

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation in North Carolina are more expensive than in Poland. Notably, childcare, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in North Carolina.

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North Carolina vs. Poland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 43.5% more for restaurants

	Poland	North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.02 PLN38.91	$17.13	+71.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.33 PLN32.36	$10.72	+28.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 PLN7.99	$2.50	+21.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.69 PLN6.55	$1.89	+12.3%
Average			+43.5%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Poland	North Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 PLN4.91	$3.91	+209.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.34 PLN16.87	$7.07	+62.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.75 PLN14.56	$3.68	-1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.32 PLN12.89	$4.27	+28.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.84 PLN11.04	$5.37	+88.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 PLN1.99	$2.40	+369.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PLN2.79	$0.80	+12.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 PLN3.00	$2.22	+187.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 PLN4.76	$2.33	+90.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.38 PLN1.49	$1.50	+293.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 PLN1.76	$1.79	+295.3%
Average			+118.3%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.4% more for transportation

	Poland	North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.15 PLN23.90	$3.48	-43.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.85 PLN119.83	$58.44	+89.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,440.20 PLN118K	$34,285.88	+12.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.65 PLN33.58	$19.96	+130.9%
Average			+8.4%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 90.3% more for housing

	Poland	North Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.87 PLN65.54	$65.72	+289.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$635.08 PLN2,467.09	$1,476.83	+132.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$525.98 PLN2,043.28	$1,144.24	+117.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$213.80 PLN830.55	$131.34	-38.6%
Average			+90.3%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Poland	North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$375.24 PLN1,457.68	$1,224.94	+226.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,342.23 PLN28,522.48	$21,882.53	+198.0%
Average			+211.9%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Poland	North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.44 PLN13.36	$5.39	+56.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.38 PLN13.13	$5.21	+54.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.25 PLN20.38	$8.25	+57.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.23 PLN140.74	$51.42	+41.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.22 PLN28.04	$13.30	+84.4%
Average			+58.8%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.1% less for clothing

	Poland	North Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.02 PLN314.75	$52.53	-35.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.65 PLN142.38	$37.74	+3.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.93 PLN333.81	$88.04	+2.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.22 PLN369.91	$112.84	+18.5%
Average			-5.1%

Poland vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Poland vs. North Carolina

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Quality of Life Comparison · 4 statistics

Make 2.1 times more money in North Carolina

Size Comparison · See true size

Poland is about 2.5 times bigger than North Carolina.

Moving from Poland to North Carolina · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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