Moving to Georgia from North Carolina
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from North Carolina to Georgia — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from North Carolina to Georgia, you would find that Georgia is 2.4% cheaper than North Carolina. A $75,000 salary in North Carolina would need to be roughly $72,808 in Georgia to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from North Carolina to Georgia.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $72,808
To maintain the same standard of living in Georgia
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 3.2% more
Groceries
pay 12.1% less
Transportation
pay 1.4% less
Housing
pay 5.7% more
Childcare
pay 16.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.6% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
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 Georgia cost about 8% less than cities in North Carolina.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How North Carolina and Georgia stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Georgia performs significantly 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
North Carolina performs better than Georgia 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 better than Georgia across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
North Carolina generally does better on infrastructure, though Georgia leads in internet access.
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
Georgia generally does better on employment & economy, though North Carolina leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
North Carolina performs better than Georgia across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Asheville | Atlanta |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 52°/32°F (11°/0°C) | 58°/39°F (14°/4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 75°/53°F (24°/12°C) | 79°/60°F (26°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 86°/69°F (30°/20°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/38°F (15°/3°C) | 64°/45°F (17°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Asheville | Atlanta |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.1°/-2.4°C) | 52°/34°F (11.3°/1.3°C) |
| Feb | 50°/31°F (10.2°/-0.6°C) | 57°/38°F (13.7°/3.2°C) |
| Mar | 58°/37°F (14.4°/2.9°C) | 65°/44°F (18.1°/6.7°C) |
| Apr | 67°/45°F (19.7°/7.3°C) | 72°/51°F (22.5°/10.8°C) |
| May | 75°/53°F (23.9°/11.7°C) | 80°/60°F (26.6°/15.7°C) |
| Jun | 82°/61°F (27.6°/16.1°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/20.1°C) |
| Jul | 85°/65°F (29.3°/18.1°C) | 89°/71°F (31.7°/21.8°C) |
| Aug | 84°/64°F (28.7°/17.7°C) | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.5°C) |
| Sep | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.8°C) | 82°/65°F (27.9°/18.2°C) |
| Oct | 68°/46°F (19.9°/7.9°C) | 73°/54°F (22.6°/12.2°C) |
| Nov | 58°/38°F (14.7°/3.1°C) | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.9°C) |
| Dec | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-0.9°C) | 54°/36°F (12.2°/2.5°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Georgia than North Carolina?
Generally yes: Georgia runs about 3% cheaper than North Carolina on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Georgia?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,202 in Georgia for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Georgia safe?
Georgia performs significantly better than North Carolina across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Georgia compared to North Carolina?
North Carolina performs better than Georgia across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Georgia compared to North Carolina?
The average high temperature in Atlanta is 72°F, compared to 67°F in Asheville. Atlanta receives around 49.7 in of rainfall per year, while Asheville gets 37.0 in.
