Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Put it this way: the numbers are clear: 8 of 9 cities in North Carolina beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Cary stands out at 115 on the index, with rent of $1,649/month and household income of $129,399. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary | 115 | $1,649 | Details |
| 2 | Raleigh | 105 | $1,567 | Details |
| 3 | Durham | 104 | $1,651 | Details |
| 4 | Charlotte | 105 | $1,705 | Details |
| 5 | Wilmington | 105 | $1,670 | Details |
| 6 | High Point | 95 | $1,469 | Details |
| 7 | Greensboro | 94 | $1,382 | Details |
| 8 | Winston-Salem | 95 | $1,445 | Details |
| 9 | Fayetteville | 93 | $1,426 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Cary — cost index 115, rent $1,649/mo, income $129,399
8 of 9 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Put it this way: the numbers are clear: 8 of 9 cities in North Carolina beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Cary stands out at 115 on the index, with rent of $1,649/month and household income of $129,399. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
A closer look at Cary: the cost index of 115 breaks down to a Utilities index of 106 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 137 (weakest). Median rent is $1,649/month — 13% below the national median — while household income sits at $129,399, meaning locals spend about 15% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
The ranking uses a composite of 2026 data from Census Bureau population/income surveys, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary benchmarks, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Cary (index 115, rent $1,649); Raleigh (index 105, rent $1,567); Durham (index 104, rent $1,651). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Now, the part that complicates the narrative: Across North Carolina, the average cost of living index is 101 — 11 points below the national median. Known for Research Triangle tech boom meets Appalachian affordability, the state offers 9 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,552/month. That's $343 less than the national average of $1,895. This combination is rare — and valuable.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
180,010 residents · North Carolina
Dive into Cary's numbers: cost index 115 (3 points above national average), rent $1,649/month, income $129,399, and a home price of $620,401. And roughly speaking, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 106, while Housing runs 137. With 180,010 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
482,295 residents · North Carolina
Real talk: a closer look at Raleigh: the cost index of 105 breaks down to a Utilities index of 96 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 112 (weakest). Median rent is $1,567/month — 17% below the national median — while household income sits at $82,424, meaning locals spend about 23% of income on rent. Fairly typical for a city this size. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
296,186 residents · North Carolina
A closer look at Durham: the cost index of 104 breaks down to a Utilities index of 96 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 111 (weakest). Median rent is $1,651/month — 13% below the national median — while household income sits at $79,234, meaning locals spend about 25% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
911,311 residents · North Carolina
What does daily life actually cost in Charlotte? Start with the 26% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Utilities (index 97) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 113) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $78,438 and homes at $393,846 round out a profile that ranks #4 for clear reasons (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
122,698 residents · North Carolina
Why Wilmington ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 105 on the cost index, residents save roughly 7% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,670/month while the median household pulls in $63,900/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 97, though Housing (114) lags behind. Home prices average $408,845 — $58,525 below the national median.
Cities are ranked by median household income using Census ACS data. Income alone doesn't tell the full story — we also show cost of living index so you can gauge real purchasing power in each city across North Carolina. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Cary ranks #1 in North Carolina for this analysis with a cost index of 115 and median income of $129,399.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Cary (ranked #1) has a cost index of 115 and rent of $1,649/mo, while Fayetteville (ranked #9) has a cost index of 93 and rent of $1,426/mo — a 22-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Cary is $1,649/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $246 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Cary is $620,401, which is 4.8× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
North Carolina has a 4.5% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.98%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.7%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.