Cost of living comparison
compared to
Richmond vs. Raleigh Cost of Living Summary
Richmond is 1.8% more expensive than Raleigh.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.6% more in Richmond
- Groceries
-
pay 8.6% less in Richmond
- Transportation
-
pay 4.2% more in Richmond
- Housing
-
pay 1.7% less in Richmond
- Childcare
-
pay 7.1% more in Richmond
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.5% more in Richmond
- Clothing
-
pay 9.4% less in Richmond
The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and transportation in Richmond are more expensive than in Raleigh. Expenses including clothing, groceries, and housing are lower in Richmond.
Richmond vs. Raleigh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Richmond instead of Raleigh, you would:
pay 6.6% more for restaurants
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$21.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.37
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
|
$2.16
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.6% less for groceries
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.07
|
$4.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.87
|
$4.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.35
|
$3.57
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.68
|
$6.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.21
|
$5.64
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.89
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
|
$0.66
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$1.86
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.94
|
$1.99
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.68
|
$1.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.24
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - Cost of groceries
pay 4.2% more for transportation
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.12
|
$3.17
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,689.37
|
$28,351.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.90
|
$14.93
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - Cost of transportation
pay 1.7% less for housing
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.64
|
$71.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,775.64
|
$1,607.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,470.00
|
$1,464.43
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.76
|
$138.22
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - Cost of housing
pay 7.1% more for childcare
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,490.00
|
$1,287.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,083.25
|
$30,776.00
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - Cost of childcare
pay 14.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.88
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.27
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.50
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.18
|
$55.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.4% less for clothing
|
Raleigh
|
Richmond
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.78
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.25
|
$35.09
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.08
|
$82.14
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$137.22
|
$120.33
|
|
Raleigh vs. Richmond - 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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