Cost of living comparison
compared to
Raleigh vs. Portland Cost of Living Summary
Raleigh is 3.3% cheaper than Portland.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.8% less in Raleigh
- Groceries
-
pay 12.6% more in Raleigh
- Transportation
-
pay 24.1% less in Raleigh
- Housing
-
pay 7.0% less in Raleigh
- Childcare
-
pay 5.1% more in Raleigh
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.2% less in Raleigh
- Clothing
-
pay 1.4% more in Raleigh
The cost of groceries, childcare, and clothing in Raleigh are more expensive than in Portland. Expenses including transportation, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Raleigh.
Raleigh vs. Portland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Raleigh instead of Portland, you would:
pay 5.8% less for restaurants
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.55
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.95
|
$2.07
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.6% more for groceries
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.36
|
$4.07
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.50
|
$6.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.08
|
$3.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.29
|
$4.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.84
|
$5.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$2.89
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
|
$0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.57
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.29
|
$2.94
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.91
|
$1.93
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - Cost of groceries
pay 24.1% less for transportation
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.86
|
$3.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.00
|
$45.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,832.84
|
$34,689.37
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.71
|
$14.90
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - Cost of transportation
pay 7.0% less for housing
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.38
|
$67.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,943.77
|
$1,775.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,565.00
|
$1,470.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$174.97
|
$142.76
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - Cost of housing
pay 5.1% more for childcare
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,778.89
|
$1,490.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,063.20
|
$24,083.25
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - Cost of childcare
pay 5.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$5.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.92
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.46
|
$40.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.4% more for clothing
|
Portland
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.50
|
$51.78
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.31
|
$48.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.18
|
$103.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.56
|
$137.22
|
|
Portland vs. Raleigh - 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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