Cost of living comparison
compared to
Raleigh vs. Richmond Cost of Living Summary
Raleigh is 1.7% more expensive than Richmond.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.5% less in Raleigh
- Groceries
-
pay 15.9% more in Raleigh
- Transportation
-
pay 1.1% less in Raleigh
- Housing
-
pay 2.0% more in Raleigh
- Childcare
-
pay 3.0% less in Raleigh
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.1% less in Raleigh
- Clothing
-
pay 14.7% more in Raleigh
The cost of groceries, clothing, and housing in Raleigh are more expensive than in Richmond. Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, childcare, and transportation are lower in Raleigh.
Raleigh vs. Richmond Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Raleigh instead of Richmond, you would:
pay 5.5% less for restaurants
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.50
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.16
|
$2.07
|
|
Richmond vs. Raleigh - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.9% more for groceries
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.00
|
$4.07
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.87
|
$6.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.57
|
$3.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.67
|
$4.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.64
|
$5.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.75
|
$2.89
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.66
|
$0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$2.57
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.99
|
$2.94
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.93
|
|
Richmond vs. Raleigh - Cost of groceries
pay 1.1% less for transportation
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.17
|
$3.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$45.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,351.00
|
$34,689.37
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.93
|
$14.90
|
|
Richmond vs. Raleigh - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0% more for housing
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.99
|
$67.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,607.14
|
$1,775.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,464.43
|
$1,470.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$138.22
|
$142.76
|
|
Richmond vs. Raleigh - Cost of housing
pay 3.0% less for childcare
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,287.50
|
$1,490.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,776.00
|
$24,083.25
|
|
Richmond vs. Raleigh - Cost of childcare
pay 11.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
|
$5.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.00
|
$40.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Richmond vs. Raleigh - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.7% more for clothing
|
Richmond
|
Raleigh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.33
|
$51.78
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.09
|
$48.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.14
|
$103.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$120.33
|
$137.22
|
|
Richmond 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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