Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Portugal Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 52.3% more expensive than Portugal overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.5% more in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 79.6% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 11.9% more in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 57.8% more in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 2.4 times more in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 63.1% more in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 9.6% less in North Carolina
The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and transportation in North Carolina are more expensive than in Portugal. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in North Carolina.
North Carolina vs. Portugal Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Portugal, you would:
pay 22.5% more for restaurants
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.13
€11.33
|
$17.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.44
€8.14
|
$10.47
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
€1.66
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.40
€1.20
|
$1.82
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 79.6% more for groceries
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.52
€1.31
|
$3.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.73
€4.94
|
$6.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.12
€3.55
|
$3.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.14
€2.71
|
$3.98
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.42
€2.95
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.06
€0.91
|
$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.58
|
$0.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.84
€0.73
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.01
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.74
€0.64
|
$1.74
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.78
|
$1.80
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 11.9% more for transportation
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.46
€6.43
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$39.12
€33.73
|
$60.67
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,916.24
€30,109.22
|
$33,588.64
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.78
€11.02
|
$19.99
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 57.8% more for housing
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.01
€35.37
|
$72.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$954.63
€823.21
|
$1,488.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$787.92
€679.44
|
$1,261.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.92
€82.71
|
$132.31
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$512.86
€442.26
|
$1,261.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,479.69
€9,036.92
|
$24,633.15
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 63.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.56
€2.21
|
$5.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
€1.76
|
$4.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.30
€5.43
|
$7.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.69
€38.54
|
$48.40
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.76
€7.55
|
$12.98
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.6% less for clothing
|
Portugal
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$82.22
€70.90
|
$49.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.56
€34.11
|
$37.76
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.53
€77.20
|
$88.37
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$103.44
€89.20
|
$111.01
|
|
Portugal vs. North Carolina - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Portugal vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Portugal and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about North Carolina or Portugal. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.