Moving to North Carolina from New Jersey
What to Expect
Considering a move from New Jersey to North Carolina? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from New Jersey to North Carolina, you would find that North Carolina is 20.5% cheaper than New Jersey. A $75,000 salary in New Jersey would need to be roughly $59,700 in North Carolina to maintain the same lifestyle. Newark and Charlotte are about 530 mi apart.
Is North Carolina cheaper than New Jersey?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 9.5% less
Groceries
pay 7.3% less
Transportation
pay 17.8% less
Housing
pay 32.5% less
Childcare
pay 24.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 17.0% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in North Carolina?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $59,700
To maintain the same standard of living in North Carolina
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in North Carolina cost about 12% less than cities in New Jersey.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in North Carolina compared to New Jersey.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Jersey performs better than North Carolina across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
New Jersey performs better than North Carolina across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
North Carolina performs significantly better than New Jersey across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
New Jersey generally does better on infrastructure, though North Carolina leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
New Jersey generally does better on employment & economy, though North Carolina leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
New Jersey performs better than North Carolina across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in North Carolina vs New Jersey
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Newark | Charlotte |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/27°F (9°/-2°C) | 56°/34°F (14°/1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 76°/51°F (24°/11°C) | 79°/56°F (26°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/63°F (29°/17°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/36°F (14°/2°C) | 62°/40°F (17°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Newark | Charlotte |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/24°F (5.6°/-4.4°C) | 51°/30°F (10.4°/-1.3°C) |
| Feb | 46°/26°F (7.7°/-3.2°C) | 55°/33°F (12.8°/0.4°C) |
| Mar | 55°/32°F (12.7°/0.2°C) | 63°/39°F (17.3°/4.1°C) |
| Apr | 67°/42°F (19.4°/5.3°C) | 72°/47°F (22.2°/8.3°C) |
| May | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.7°C) | 79°/56°F (26.1°/13.2°C) |
| Jun | 85°/61°F (29.5°/16.3°C) | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 88°/66°F (31.2°/18.8°C) | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.1°C) |
| Aug | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.1°C) | 87°/67°F (30.8°/19.6°C) |
| Sep | 80°/57°F (26.5°/14.0°C) | 81°/60°F (27.4°/15.8°C) |
| Oct | 69°/45°F (20.4°/7.3°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) |
| Nov | 58°/36°F (14.2°/2.4°C) | 62°/39°F (16.9°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 46°/28°F (7.8°/-2.2°C) | 53°/32°F (11.6°/-0.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in North Carolina than New Jersey?
On average North Carolina is about 20% less expensive than New Jersey, with major cities narrowing the gap.
How much money do I need to move to North Carolina?
Budget about $14,925 for 3 months in North Carolina (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is North Carolina safe?
New Jersey performs better than North Carolina across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in North Carolina compared to New Jersey?
New Jersey performs better than North Carolina across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in North Carolina compared to New Jersey?
The average high temperature in Charlotte is 71°F, compared to 67°F in Newark. Charlotte receives around 41.7 in of rainfall per year, while Newark gets 46.2 in.
