North Carolina vs Virginia: cost of living compared
Statewide price levels and incomes from BEA (2024); gas prices from EIA (weekly).
Is it cheaper to live in North Carolina or Virginia?
- Overall, Virginia is 7.2% more expensive than North Carolina (BEA, 2024).
- To keep the same standard of living, $75,000 in North Carolina works out to about $80,400 in Virginia, before taxes.
- Most of the difference is housing, which costs 31.3% more in Virginia. Goods are 3.9% higher and other services 2.1% higher.
- After adjusting for local prices, personal income per person is $61,914 in Virginia and $56,310 in North Carolina (10.0% higher in Virginia; BEA, 2024, in 2017 dollars).
- Inside each state, metro price levels run from 89.4 in Lynchburg, VA to 99.1 in Charlottesville, VA (Virginia) and from 88.0 in Rocky Mount, NC to 98.2 in Raleigh, NC (North Carolina), US = 100.
- The gap has narrowed since 2019, when Virginia was 8.9% more expensive than North Carolina.
derived Calculated from BEA Regional Price Parities and real personal income by state. Statewide averages mix cities and rural areas; taxes are not included. How we calculate.
Category by category
Both states against the US average (100).
Housing drives the gap: 31.3% higher in Virginia than in North Carolina
Price level by category, 2024. US average = 100.
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| All items | 94.3 | 101.1 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 100.4 |
| Housing (rents) | 81.4 | 106.8 |
| Utilities | 88.6 | 92.2 |
| Other services | 98.2 | 100.2 |
| Category | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia vs North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 94.3 | 101.1 | +7.2% |
| Goods | 96.6 | 100.4 | +3.9% |
| Housing (rents) | 81.4 | 106.8 | +31.3% |
| Utilities | 88.6 | 92.2 | +4.0% |
| Other services | 98.2 | 100.2 | +2.1% |
| Income per person, adjusted for prices | $56,310 | $61,914 | +10.0% |
| Regular gas, week of October 19, 2026* | $3.86 | $3.86 | 0.0% |
| Salary to match $75,000 in North Carolina | $75,000 | $80,400 | +7.2% |
Index values: BEA, 2024, US = 100. Income: BEA real personal income per person, 2017 dollars. Gas: EIA weekly retail prices. *Lower Atlantic region average (EIA has no separate North Carolina figure). *Lower Atlantic region average (EIA has no separate Virginia figure).
Cheapest and most expensive places in each state
North Carolina
- Rocky Mount, NC 88.0
- Pinehurst, NC 88.3
- Greenville, NC 88.4
- Goldsboro, NC 88.5
- Hickory, NC 88.5
- Fayetteville, NC 92.0
- Winston-Salem, NC 92.0
- Jacksonville, NC 92.1
- Greensboro, NC 92.9
- Burlington, NC 93.2
- Wilmington, NC 96.4
- Asheville, NC 96.5
- Charlotte, NC 97.3
- Durham, NC 97.6
- Virginia Beach, VA 97.9
- Raleigh, NC 98.2
Virginia
- Kingsport, TN 86.4
- Lynchburg, VA 89.4
- Staunton, VA 91.1
- Blacksburg, VA 92.7
- Roanoke, VA 93.6
- Harrisonburg, VA 94.9
- Winchester, VA 96.5
- Richmond, VA 97.9
- Virginia Beach, VA 97.9
- Charlottesville, VA 99.1
- Washington, DC 108.9
Metro areas ordered from cheapest to most expensive. BEA, 2024, US = 100.
How the gap has changed since 2008
The price gap between North Carolina and Virginia has narrowed since 2008: 10.8 points then, 6.8 now
Overall price level each year, 2008–2024. US average = 100.
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.4 | 103.2 |
| 2009 | 91.3 | 102.4 |
| 2010 | 92.9 | 103.7 |
| 2011 | 93.6 | 103.4 |
| 2012 | 93.5 | 102.5 |
| 2013 | 93.7 | 103.5 |
| 2014 | 93.8 | 103.5 |
| 2015 | 93.6 | 103.6 |
| 2016 | 93.8 | 102.8 |
| 2017 | 93.0 | 101.2 |
| 2018 | 92.9 | 102.0 |
| 2019 | 91.9 | 100.1 |
| 2020 | 91.3 | 101.0 |
| 2021 | 93.7 | 102.3 |
| 2022 | 94.0 | 102.0 |
| 2023 | 94.4 | 101.3 |
| 2024 | 94.3 | 101.1 |
Goods
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.6 | 102.7 |
| 2009 | 94.3 | 101.8 |
| 2010 | 96.9 | 101.7 |
| 2011 | 96.4 | 100.6 |
| 2012 | 95.6 | 99.3 |
| 2013 | 96.0 | 101.3 |
| 2014 | 95.7 | 99.0 |
| 2015 | 95.0 | 98.6 |
| 2016 | 95.9 | 99.2 |
| 2017 | 95.7 | 98.6 |
| 2018 | 95.7 | 99.7 |
| 2019 | 95.7 | 99.1 |
| 2020 | 95.4 | 99.4 |
| 2021 | 96.2 | 101.4 |
| 2022 | 95.6 | 100.5 |
| 2023 | 96.8 | 101.1 |
| 2024 | 96.6 | 100.4 |
Housing (rents)
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 74.3 | 112.9 |
| 2009 | 75.3 | 114.2 |
| 2010 | 75.4 | 114.4 |
| 2011 | 76.3 | 114.5 |
| 2012 | 75.8 | 113.4 |
| 2013 | 76.0 | 115.8 |
| 2014 | 76.3 | 115.2 |
| 2015 | 75.8 | 114.9 |
| 2016 | 74.7 | 111.8 |
| 2017 | 75.5 | 110.9 |
| 2018 | 75.3 | 112.6 |
| 2019 | 75.4 | 107.4 |
| 2020 | 75.0 | 111.4 |
| 2021 | 76.0 | 110.1 |
| 2022 | 78.8 | 107.7 |
| 2023 | 80.8 | 105.6 |
| 2024 | 81.4 | 106.8 |
Utilities
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 85.4 | 90.9 |
| 2009 | 85.5 | 94.1 |
| 2010 | 87.6 | 92.2 |
| 2011 | 87.3 | 92.3 |
| 2012 | 90.5 | 95.0 |
| 2013 | 89.8 | 92.5 |
| 2014 | 90.4 | 92.9 |
| 2015 | 91.0 | 94.5 |
| 2016 | 88.4 | 94.1 |
| 2017 | 85.4 | 91.5 |
| 2018 | 86.8 | 92.6 |
| 2019 | 89.2 | 94.6 |
| 2020 | 87.7 | 93.9 |
| 2021 | 84.6 | 91.9 |
| 2022 | 82.5 | 92.1 |
| 2023 | 83.6 | 92.4 |
| 2024 | 88.6 | 92.2 |
Other services
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.7 | 101.2 |
| 2009 | 96.6 | 99.6 |
| 2010 | 98.1 | 102.4 |
| 2011 | 99.5 | 102.6 |
| 2012 | 99.9 | 101.8 |
| 2013 | 100.0 | 101.8 |
| 2014 | 100.2 | 103.6 |
| 2015 | 100.3 | 104.1 |
| 2016 | 100.7 | 102.9 |
| 2017 | 98.8 | 100.6 |
| 2018 | 98.3 | 100.8 |
| 2019 | 95.8 | 98.7 |
| 2020 | 95.5 | 99.1 |
| 2021 | 99.6 | 101.0 |
| 2022 | 99.7 | 101.9 |
| 2023 | 98.7 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 98.2 | 100.2 |
What incomes buy in each state
Income per person after adjusting for prices: $61,914 in Virginia, $56,310 in North Carolina
Real personal income per person, constant 2017 dollars (adjusted for each state's price level and for inflation).
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- United States
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real personal income by state (SARPI), 2008–2024.
Show the numbers
| North Carolina | Virginia | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $45,858 | $49,355 | $45,816 |
| 2009 | $44,321 | $48,471 | $44,204 |
| 2010 | $42,691 | $48,469 | $44,808 |
| 2011 | $42,462 | $49,623 | $45,957 |
| 2012 | $44,038 | $50,690 | $46,796 |
| 2013 | $42,463 | $48,667 | $46,358 |
| 2014 | $43,820 | $49,588 | $47,661 |
| 2015 | $45,796 | $51,307 | $49,396 |
| 2016 | $46,302 | $52,239 | $49,828 |
| 2017 | $47,646 | $53,847 | $51,006 |
| 2018 | $48,676 | $54,059 | $52,242 |
| 2019 | $50,966 | $56,459 | $53,683 |
| 2020 | $54,346 | $58,286 | $56,514 |
| 2021 | $56,146 | $60,423 | $59,365 |
| 2022 | $54,204 | $58,797 | $57,104 |
| 2023 | $54,748 | $60,556 | $58,088 |
| 2024 | $56,310 | $61,914 | $59,195 |
More
- Cost of living in North Carolina
- Cost of living in Virginia
- Reverse: moving from Virginia to North Carolina
- All states ranked
Related state comparisons
What this comparison leaves out
- Taxes. State income, sales and property taxes differ a lot between states and are not included.
- Where you live inside the state. Statewide figures average cities and rural areas; the metro lists above show the spread.
- Your own spending mix. The default uses an average household. Use the housing slider if housing is a bigger share of your budget.
- Timing. BEA price levels and incomes are for 2024; gas prices are weekly.