Cost of living comparison

compared to

North Carolina vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 2.7 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in North Carolina
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in North Carolina
Transportation: pay 34.9% more in North Carolina
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in North Carolina
Childcare: pay 6.7 times more in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in North Carolina
Clothing: pay 10.5% more in North Carolina

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation in North Carolina are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in North Carolina.

North Carolina vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Carolina instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR157.99	$17.06	+82.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR86.54	$10.47	+104.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.46	$2.28	+121.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.59	$1.82	+127.1%
Average			+109.0%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	South Africa	North Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.97	$3.79	+278.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR65.75	$6.80	+75.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR73.98	$3.73	-14.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.49	$3.98	+70.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.12	$5.20	+143.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.33	$2.47	+238.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.04	$0.71	+8.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.57	$2.20	+222.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.00	$2.38	+235.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.91	$1.74	+196.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.16	$1.80	+200.2%
Average			+150.4%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.9% more for transportation

	South Africa	North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.33	$2.98	-39.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR950.86	$60.67	+8.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	$33,588.64	+57.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR158.05	$19.99	+114.1%
Average			+34.9%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	South Africa	North Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR666.17	$72.77	+84.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	$1,488.15	+268.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	$1,261.77	+249.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	$132.31	+50.1%
Average			+163.1%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 6.7 times more for childcare

	South Africa	North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	$1,261.89	+627.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	$24,633.15	+521.7%
Average			+574.5%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.86	$5.12	+135.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.68	$4.82	+135.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.17	$7.77	+162.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR512.21	$48.40	+59.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR115.92	$12.98	+89.6%
Average			+116.4%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.5% more for clothing

	South Africa	North Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR858.89	$49.30	-2.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR554.38	$37.76	+15.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	$88.37	-6.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	$111.01	+35.7%
Average			+10.5%

South Africa vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing

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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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