Cost of living comparison
compared to
Los Angeles vs. Raleigh Cost of Living Summary
Los Angeles is 21.2% more expensive than Raleigh.
Los Angeles vs. Raleigh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Los Angeles instead of Raleigh, you would:
pay 20.9% more for restaurants
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.37
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
|
$2.26
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.7% more for groceries
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.07
|
$4.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.87
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.35
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.68
|
$7.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.21
|
$7.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.89
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
|
$1.27
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.94
|
$2.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.68
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.22
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - Cost of groceries
pay 44.0% more for transportation
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.12
|
$4.78
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$93.48
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,689.37
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.90
|
$18.01
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - Cost of transportation
pay 24.1% more for housing
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.64
|
$74.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,775.64
|
$2,536.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,470.00
|
$1,984.71
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.76
|
$155.53
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - Cost of housing
pay 15.2% more for childcare
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,490.00
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,083.25
|
$27,000.00
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - Cost of childcare
pay 27.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.88
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.27
|
$5.76
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.50
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.18
|
$47.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$18.00
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.0% more for clothing
|
Raleigh
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.78
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.25
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.08
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$137.22
|
$149.85
|
|
Raleigh vs. Los Angeles - 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: October 2026
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