With Raleigh constantly growing and undertaking multiple high-profile developments this year, we figured it was time to talk about the cost of planting some roots in the City of Oaks.
The median household income in Wake County is $96,734, according to the US Census Bureau. State-wise, NC is No. 40 in the country for median income at ~$61,972 per household.
The overall cost of living in Raleigh is higher than the national average, and higher than the rest of the state.
In Oak City, the cost of healthcare and utilities is lower compared to other parts of the state + the US. However, the cost of groceries, housing, and other miscellaneous expenses in the city have higher average costs than other cities in NC and the country overall.
Breaking down the numbers
Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $60,000 annually, your max monthly budget for rent + utilities would be $1,500 — 30% of your monthly gross income. The average monthly rent for an apartment in Raleigh is $1,577 — putting you over budget.
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how much you can currently afford to spend on buying a home in Raleigh, try using SmartAsset’s cost calculator. Factors like your marital status, annual pre-tax income, down payment, and monthly debt, will help determine that figure. According to BestPlaces, the median home cost in Raleigh is $427,000.
While we’re crunching numbers, let’s also take a look at the chart below to see how Raleigh’s cost of living compares to that of Durham.
Interested in seeing Raleigh’s cost of living compared to cities in other states? We played around on NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pre-tax household income to find out what other cities you could afford to live in.
For fun — we took a look at the cost of living in Raleigh compared to Manhattan, NY. Here’s what we found:
- The cost of living is 135% higher in Manhattan.
- To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $117,665 to our NYC household.
- The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $5,743, which is $4,189 more than Raleigh.
Local housing + developments
Raleigh has entities such as the Affordable Housing Bond + other government-funded programs to help develop more affordable units. Additionally, nonprofits like CASA provide housing to those experiencing homelessness.
There are also a number of local development firms working on apartments seemingly all the time — from Vivo Living’s fully furnished North Woods and Durham developments to the upcoming affordable housing developments at Moore Square by Loden Development.
