Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

North Carolina, USA

North Carolina vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

North Carolina is 30.6% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.6% less in North Carolina
Groceries: pay 5.1% less in North Carolina
Transportation: pay 45.9% less in North Carolina
Housing: pay 23.0% less in North Carolina
Childcare: pay 44.8% less in North Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.2% less in North Carolina
Clothing: pay 47.9% less in North Carolina

Expenses including clothing, transportation, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in North Carolina.

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North Carolina vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Carolina instead of Switzerland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.6% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$30.33 CHF24.99	$17.13	-43.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.14 CHF14.94	$10.72	-40.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.29 CHF4.35	$2.50	-52.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.78 CHF3.94	$1.89	-60.4%
Average			-45.6%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.1% less for groceries

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$3.50 CHF2.89	$3.91	+11.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.96 CHF10.68	$7.07	-45.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.10 CHF6.68	$3.68	-54.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.57 CHF6.24	$4.27	-43.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.18 CHF10.04	$5.37	-56.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.60 CHF1.32	$2.40	+50.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 CHF0.75	$0.80	-11.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 CHF1.03	$2.22	+77.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.25 CHF1.85	$2.33	+3.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 CHF0.70	$1.50	+76.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.94 CHF0.78	$1.79	+89.9%
Average			-5.1%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.9% less for transportation

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.57 CHF7.06	$3.48	-59.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$118.70 CHF97.79	$58.44	-50.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,149.55 CHF33,076.84	$34,285.88	-14.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$42.12 CHF34.70	$19.96	-52.6%
Average			-45.9%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.0% less for housing

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$58.17 CHF47.92	$65.72	+13.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,813.65 CHF1,494.16	$1,476.83	-18.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,535.97 CHF1,265.39	$1,144.24	-25.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$206.49 CHF170.11	$131.34	-36.4%
Average			-23.0%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 44.8% less for childcare

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,648.71 CHF2,182.11	$1,224.94	-53.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$33,203.62 CHF27,354.51	$21,882.53	-34.1%
Average			-44.8%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.68 CHF7.15	$5.39	-37.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.95 CHF4.90	$5.21	-12.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.85 CHF8.94	$8.25	-23.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$93.96 CHF77.41	$51.42	-45.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$22.75 CHF18.74	$13.30	-41.5%
Average			-35.2%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.9% less for clothing

	Switzerland	North Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$135.00 CHF111.22	$52.53	-61.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.94 CHF54.32	$37.74	-42.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$152.86 CHF125.93	$88.04	-42.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$196.87 CHF162.19	$112.84	-42.7%
Average			-47.9%

Switzerland vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Switzerland vs. North Carolina

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 4 statistics

Make 48.3% less money in North Carolina

Size Comparison · See true size

Switzerland is about 3.1 times smaller than North Carolina.

Moving from Switzerland to North Carolina · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Zurich vs Charlotte

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