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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Put it this way: the income-cost paradox: Cary pays $129,399 — 61% above the national median — while costing just 96 on the index. Only 40 of 288 tracked cities share this unusual profile. Here's the full 9-city ranking for 2026.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary | 96 | $1,649 | Details |
| 2 | Raleigh | 92 | $1,567 | Details |
| 3 | Durham | 96 | $1,651 | Details |
| 4 | Charlotte | 100 | $1,705 | Details |
| 5 | Wilmington | 98 | $1,670 | Details |
| 6 | High Point | 86 | $1,469 | Details |
| 7 | Greensboro | 81 | $1,382 | Details |
| 8 | Winston-Salem | 84 | $1,445 | Details |
| 9 | Fayetteville | 83 | $1,426 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Cary — cost index 96, rent $1,649/mo, income $129,399
Cary: high income, low cost — a rare combo
9 of 9 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Put it this way: the income-cost paradox: Cary pays $129,399 — 61% above the national median — while costing just 96 on the index. Only 40 of 288 tracked cities share this unusual profile. Here's the full 9-city ranking for 2026.
A closer look at Cary: the cost index of 96 breaks down to a Housing index of 96 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 99 (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 96, rent $1,649); Raleigh (index 92, rent $1,567); Durham (index 96, rent $1,651). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Cary: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Cary earns above the national median ($129,399 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 96 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
Now, the part that complicates the narrative: Across North Carolina, the average cost of living index is 91 — 20 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. And roughly speaking, 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 96 (15 points below 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 — Housing is the cheapest category at 96, while Healthcare runs 99. 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 92 breaks down to a Housing index of 92 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 98 (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 96 breaks down to a Housing index of 96 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 99 (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, Healthcare (index 100) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 100) 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 98 on the cost index, residents save roughly 13% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,670/month while the median household pulls in $63,900/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 98, though Healthcare (100) 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 96 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 96 and rent of $1,649/mo, while Fayetteville (ranked #9) has a cost index of 83 and rent of $1,426/mo — a 13-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.