Overall
98.2
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Raleigh-Cary, NC
Cost-of-living indicators for Raleigh-Cary, NC, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 98.2
- Overall RPP
- #111
- of 387 metros
- 103.5
- Rents RPP
- $102K
- $100K national buys
Raleigh ranks #111 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Carson City
The verdict
Raleigh costs less than 29% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 98.2, 1.8% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 89.0.
- bottom 71%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.6
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 89.0
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $101,878 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $98,157.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$98,157
in Raleigh-Cary, NC purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$49,079
$75,000 nationally
$73,618
$125,000 nationally
$122,696
$150,000 nationally
$147,236
$200,000 nationally
$196,314
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
22/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
22nd percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Service-cost relief profile
How Raleigh's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Raleigh: their index is 89.0, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 98.2 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL, Charlottesville, VA. They resemble Raleigh across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Raleigh's overall index has stayed within 1.1 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Raleigh vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
98 Top 29% higher than 71% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Raleigh cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
103.5 RPP
- Services
Services
89 RPP
- Overall
Overall
98.2 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.6 RPP
What this shows Raleigh's strongest departure is services at 89.0; rents follows at 103.5. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Raleigh's cost comes from
Metros near Raleigh's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Raleigh (Raleigh, this metro): goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 103.5
- Carson City: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 101.2
- Provo: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 104.1
- Austin: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 120.4
- Prescott Valley: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 98.8
- Lancaster: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 93.8
- Merced: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 78.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.6
Below avg
Services
89.0
Cheap
Rents
103.5
Above avg
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Raleigh's overall RPP fell -0.2 points, from 98.4 in 2023 to 98.2 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 83.8 to 89.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.1 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index jumped 2.2 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Raleigh overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.0 |
| 2009 | 95.9 |
| 2010 | 97.2 |
| 2011 | 98.3 |
| 2012 | 98.0 |
| 2013 | 97.9 |
| 2014 | 98.4 |
| 2015 | 98.3 |
| 2016 | 99.3 |
| 2017 | 98.4 |
| 2018 | 96.9 |
| 2019 | 95.6 |
| 2020 | 95.4 |
| 2021 | 97.6 |
| 2022 | 98.3 |
| 2023 | 98.4 |
| 2024 | 98.2 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Raleigh-Cary, NC's index of 98.2.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
NC-relative analysis
Goods prices places Raleigh-Cary, NC near the bottom of NC's metros
Among the 15 NC metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Raleigh-Cary, NC ranks #1 - the 7th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Raleigh-Cary, NC only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 15
7th percentile in NC
Services prices
#5 of 15
67th percentile in NC
Rent prices
#1 of 15
93rd percentile in NC
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within NC only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Raleigh-Cary, NC: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (98.2 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (103.5 here).
Lexington Park, MD Rents 103.8 Burlington-South Burlington, VT Rents 103.8 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Rents 103.9 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Rents 102.6 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Rents 104.5 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Rents 104.6 Portland-South Portland, ME Rents 105.2 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL Rents 101.6
Other NC Metros
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 97.6 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 97.3 Asheville, NC 96.5 Wilmington, NC 96.4 Burlington, NC 93.2 Greensboro-High Point, NC 92.9
View all NC metros → Cheapest in NC → Most expensive in NC →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Raleigh's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 88.1 · Rents 101.2 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.3 · Rents 101.6 Charlottesville, VA
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.0 · Rents 107.0 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.6 · Rents 99.8 Richmond, VA
Goods 96.8 · Services 89.2 · Rents 99.1 Carson City, NV
Goods 96.3 · Services 92.7 · Rents 101.2
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Raleigh
How to read Raleigh's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $101,878 in Raleigh. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 89.0, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Raleigh head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Raleigh-Cary, NC?
Raleigh-Cary, NC has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 98.2, meaning it is 1.8% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.6, services at 89.0, and rents at 103.5. It ranks #111 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Raleigh-Cary, NC to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $98,157 in Raleigh-Cary, NC. Conversely, $100K earned in Raleigh-Cary, NC has the purchasing power of $101,878 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Raleigh-Cary, NC?
Rents in Raleigh-Cary, NC are indexed at 103.5, which is 3.5% above the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Raleigh-Cary, NC getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Raleigh-Cary, NC's overall cost index changed by +1.1 points (from 97.0 to 98.2). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Raleigh-Cary, NC?
The priciest category in Raleigh-Cary, NC is rents at 103.5, 3.5% above the national average. The most affordable category is services at 89.0, 11.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Raleigh-Cary, NC?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Carson City, Provo-Orem-Lehi, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Raleigh-Cary, NC's 98.2.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.