How Much You Need To Live Comfortably in 25 North Carolina Cities
Across the state of North Carolina are cities where it’s possible to live comfortably on modest earnings with several major metropolitan areas among those with an affordable cost of living.
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To determine which North Carolina cities individuals may live comfortably in, GOBankingRates found the 150 most populated cities in North Carolina. Each city’s total population, total households and median household income were sourced along with the average single-family home value, average mortgage and livability index.
With cities ranked from smallest to highest populations, here’s how much it takes to live comfortably in 25 North Carolina cities.
Holly Springs
Total households: 13,596
Total population: 42,023
Median household income: $127,755
Livability: 85
Average home value (January 2024): $559,065
Average mortgage cost: $3,287
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,950
Monthly cost of living: $5,237
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Hickory
Total households: 17,663
Total population: 43,352
Median household income: $58,251
Livability: 69
Average home value (January 2024): $275,414
Average mortgage cost: $1,619
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,985
Monthly cost of living: $3,604
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Wilson
Total households: 19,658
Total population: 47,767
Median household income: $46,891
Livability: 63
Average home value (January 2024): $201,748
Average mortgage cost: $1,186
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,926
Monthly cost of living: $3,113
Wake Forest
Total households: 16,811
Total population: 48,047
Median household income: $115,159
Livability: 83
Average home value (January 2024): $508,520
Average mortgage cost: $2,990
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,988
Monthly cost of living: $4,978
Mooresville
Total households: 19,365
Total population: 50,025
Median household income: $82,622
Livability: 73
Average home value (January 2024): $461,365
Average mortgage cost: $2,713
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,057
Monthly cost of living: $4,769
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Kannapolis
Total households: 19,026
Total population: 53,314
Median household income: $66,487
Livability: 62
Average home value (January 2024): $261,176
Average mortgage cost: $1,536
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,868
Monthly cost of living: $3,403
Rocky Mount
Total households: 22,666
Total population: 54,260
Median household income: $50,092
Livability: 70
Average home value (January 2024): $178,135
Average mortgage cost: $1,047
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,848
Monthly cost of living: $2,896
Burlington
Total households: 23,883
Total population: 56,951
Median household income: $52,963
Livability: 69
Average home value (January 2024): $230,583
Average mortgage cost: $1,356
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,817
Monthly cost of living: $3,173
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Chapel Hill
Total households: 19,965
Total population: 58,919
Median household income: $85,940
Livability: 85
Average home value (January 2024): $626,049
Average mortgage cost: $3,681
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,124
Monthly cost of living: $5,804
Huntersville
Total households: 22,974
Total population: 61,202
Median household income: $112,893
Livability: 74
Average home value (January 2024): $518,914
Average mortgage cost: $3,051
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,987
Monthly cost of living: $5,038
Apex
Total households: 22,965
Total population: 65,541
Median household income: $129,688
Livability: 87
Average home value (January 2024): $592,306
Average mortgage cost: $3,482
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,937
Monthly cost of living: $5,420
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Jacksonville
Total households: 22,089
Total population: 71,908
Median household income: $50,185
Livability: 70
Average home value (January 2024): $234,072
Average mortgage cost: $1,376
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,000
Monthly cost of living: $3,376
Gastonia
Total households: 31,151
Total population: 80,615
Median household income: $58,047
Livability: 59
Average home value (January 2024): $268,925
Average mortgage cost: $1,581
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,915
Monthly cost of living: $3,497
Greenville
Total households: 37,901
Total population: 87,894
Median household income: $47,485
Livability: 76
Average home value (January 2024): $247,768
Average mortgage cost: $1,457
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,182
Monthly cost of living: $3,639
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Asheville
Total households: 38,229
Total population: 93,695
Median household income: $63,810
Livability: 72
Average home value (January 2024): $460,589
Average mortgage cost: $2,708
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,189
Monthly cost of living: $4,897
Concord
Total households: 36,205
Total population: 105,335
Median household income: $83,480
Livability: 80
Average home value (January 2024): $367,581
Average mortgage cost: $2,161
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,021
Monthly cost of living: $4,182
High Point
Total households: 44,049
Total population: 114,120
Median household income: $58,582
Livability: 76
Average home value (January 2024): $233,941
Average mortgage cost: $1,375
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,988
Monthly cost of living: $3,363
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Wilmington
Total households: 53,374
Total population: 116,933
Median household income: $58,908
Livability: 70
Average home value (January 2024): $403,865
Average mortgage cost: $2,374
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,144
Monthly cost of living: $4,519
Cary
Total households: 66,120
Total population: 174,880
Median household income: $125,317
Livability: 90
Average home value (January 2024): $609,253
Average mortgage cost: $3,582
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,049
Monthly cost of living: $5,631
Fayetteville
Total households: 80,852
Total population: 208,697
Median household income: $53,424
Livability: 73
Average home value (January 2024): $205,557
Average mortgage cost: $1,209
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,031
Monthly cost of living: $3,240
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Winston-Salem
Total households: 98,749
Total population: 249,571
Median household income: $54,416
Livability: 66
Average home value (January 2024): $247,228
Average mortgage cost: $1,454
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,991
Monthly cost of living: $3,445
Durham
Total households: 120,386
Total population: 284,094
Median household income: $74,710
Livability: 81
Average home value (January 2024): $394,050
Average mortgage cost: $2,317
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,042
Monthly cost of living: $4,359
Greensboro
Total households: 120,137
Total population: 297,202
Median household income: $55,051
Livability: 82
Average home value (January 2024): $253,586
Average mortgage cost: $1,491
Average monthly expenditure cost: $1,981
Monthly cost of living: $3,472
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Raleigh
Total households: 189,830
Total population: 465,517
Median household income: $78,631
Livability: 84
Average home value (January 2024): $434,556
Average mortgage cost: $2,555
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,041
Monthly cost of living: $4,595
Charlotte
Total households: 354,442
Total population: 875,045
Median household income: $74,070
Livability: 79
Average home value (January 2024): $393,632
Average mortgage cost: $2,314
Average monthly expenditure cost: $2,033
Monthly cost of living: $4,347
Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned in the article was used.
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities across North Carolina to find how much someone needs to earn to live comfortably in cities across North Carolina. GOBankingRates started by finding the 150 most populated cities in North Carolina as sourced from the US Census American Community Survey. For each city on the list a number of factors were found including; total population, total households, and median household income, all sourced from the US Census American Community Survey, the cost of living indexes as sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, average single family home value as sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index, the average mortgage, calculated using the National 30-year Fixed Rate Average Mortgage as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, and the livability index as sourced from AreaVibes. The cities were sorted by population from most to least populated city to find the average amount needed to live comfortably in the major North Carolina cities. All the data was collected on and up-to-date as of April 8, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much You Need To Live Comfortably in 25 North Carolina Cities
