North Carolina is a beautiful state that has a little bit of everything your heart desires. Mountains, beaches, lush forests, and radiant sunsets. The jobs are booming, and the cities are growing fast. It’s a great place to settle down and create a future. Let’s go into the details that make that accurate.
Housing Costs in North Carolina
According to NeighborhoodScout, the median home value in North Carolina is $174,380. That means there are plenty of home-buying deals to be had there. In larger cities like Charlotte and Raleigh, the median home value is higher at $208,791 and $282,237, respectively.
NeighborhoodScout data also indicates that more than 63% of North Carolina residents are homeowners. The report also shows that the majority of these homes are three-bedroom, single-family residences. North Carolina homes also seem to be appreciating overall, as NeighborhoodScout again indicates that from 2017 to 2018, home values increased by 7.5%. To see how much a mortgage may cost you in your town, look at our North Carolina mortgage calculator.
Rent in North Carolina is generally more affordable than the national median. 2019 data from Apartment List has the state’s median two-bedroom rent at $907, $268 less than the $1,175 U.S. median. The same goes for studios, one-bedrooms, and three bedrooms.
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On a city to city basis, these medians can vary wildly. Charlotte has a $1,130 median two-bedroom rent, while Matthews sits at $1,376. Fayetteville holds a low $769 median of two-bedroom rent.
Food
According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, an adult with no children would need to spend $249.50 per month on food. A family of two adults and two children would need to pay $735 a month. This is the bare minimum, however.
Actual food prices can vary from city to city, though. In Charlotte, a dozen eggs and a pound of bread go for $2.40 and $2.10, respectively, based on May 2019 data from Numbeo.com. Greensboro residents pay a little less. Here, a dozen eggs cost $1.95, but a loaf of bread is the same price.
Transportation
GasBuddy data from May 2019 shows that a gallon of gas in North Carolina carries an average price of $2.71. That’s a little under the national average of $2.90. Commute times in North Carolina are right around the national average, too. According to the Census Bureau, the average time to travel to work in North Carolina is 24.3 minutes than a national average of 26.4 minutes.
Prefer to take public transportation? Some cities in North Carolina have bus systems. A monthly pass on Charlotte’s local bus will cost you $88 for the primary route. The Monthly Express pass costs $121, and the Express Plus costs $176.
Healthcare
According to a 2017 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, North Carolina is almost exactly average in annual employee contributions for single coverage healthcare at private companies. The national average is $1,415, and North Carolina comes in at $1,391.
Aside from the Charlotte metro area, North Carolina’s median healthcare prices appear to follow a similar pattern. For example, Raleigh is 1% above the national median, Greensboro is right in line with it, and Durham is 7% below it. The Charlotte metro is the only outlier, as its prices are 18% higher than the national median.
Taxes
North Carolina is one of eight states with a flat income tax. Of those eight states, North Carolina has the highest flat tax rate at 5.25%
You might think that a flat-tax state like North Carolina would make up for it with high property taxes. Not so. The average effective property tax rate in North Carolina is 0.86%. Local governments are in charge of setting property tax rates, though, so there is a variation from city to city. Durham has the highest average effective property tax rate in the state, at 1.22%. Macon’s are the lowest at just 0.44%.
