If you are thinking of moving to the Old North State, you should be aware of the 10 most expensive cities to live in North Carolina, which is one of the most populous states in the United States of America. Although the general cost of living in this state is 4.6% lower than the US average, there are certain cities to be aware of if one has a low budget.
LesPalenik/Shutterstock.com
North Carolina previously had nothing to rely on for its economy other than a few industries like textile and tobacco. Now, however, its economy is boosting with great speed, expanding into finance, energy, and engineering sectors. Therefore, it’s a great place to live in employment wise, since the unemployment rate here is 6%, which is below the rate in an average city in the US. Furthermore, this state attracts many tourists to behold the amazing view of the Appalachian Mountains or to swim in the Carolina Beach. The North Carolina Museum of Art is also an interesting place to visit. Nevertheless, if you are still not convinced and want to consider another state to move to, you can see our list of 10 most expensive cities to live in Illinois.
Coming back to the 10 most expensive cities to live in North Carolina, it’s surprising that the capital city of this state (Raleigh) and the biggest one (Charlotte) have not made it into the list. To create our list, first, we have taken into account only the cities with a population of above 10,000 residents, and then out of those cities, we found 20 with the highest overall costs of living indexes. The overall cost of living index provides a comparison with the average living expenses in the US, i.e. if the index is 110, it means that the cost is 10% above the average, and it combines the effect of healthcare, housing, groceries, transport and utility expenses and miscellaneous. Those 20 cities were then ranked separately by healthcare index, housing index, transport index, and utility index, and the average ranking was calculated for all of them, hence getting the final list of the priciest cities in North Carolina. One may wonder why did we exclude “miscellaneous” from the categories, and here is an explanation for that: since the cost of miscellaneous index represents costs of things like restaurants and entertainment, which are not as necessary as all the other categories, we decided to exclude it. Otherwise, with taking that category into account also, we could have just used the overall cost of living index. But, we found that the mentioned 4 categories are far more relevant, and they make a more precise picture of the expenses that must be made. All statistics of the population have been extracted from City-Data whereas details of costs of living have been seen from Sperling’s Best Places.
The components of the factors used are explained as under:
- Grocery – Includes general cost of food in grocery stores.
- Health – Includes average daily rate of a hospital room and charges of a visit to the doctor counting dental checkup as well.
- Utility – Includes average cost of heating or cooling a house, along with electricity and natural gas expenses.
- Transportation – Includes gas expenses, car insurance and maintenance of vehicles.
10. Wake Forest
Cost of groceries index: 101
Cost of health index: 100
Cost of housing index: 140
Cost of utilities index: 106
Cost of transportation index: 98
The city of Wake Forest, NC has made this list mainly due to its high cost of utilities, which are generally low in the state overall. Transportation is also extremely cheap in North Carolina, even in its most expensive cities like the ones on our list. The category that has had the highest impact on making these cities unaffordable for people with low incomes, is housing. Cost of housing index is particularly high in these cities, so if you are looking to move to houses with low mortgage rates or low rents, you should watch out for Wake Forest and all the cities mentioned ahead.
designer491/Shutterstock.com
7. Huntersville
Cost of groceries index: 101.9
Cost of health index: 95
Cost of housing index: 129
Cost of utilities index: 99
Cost of transportation index: 101
Huntersville has tied with Pinehurst and Apex for the number seven spot. Transportation in this city is higher than the US average and although it is not exorbitantly priced, it has ranked high on our list because of the generally inexpensive rates elsewhere in the state.
bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock.com
7. Pinehurst
Cost of groceries index: 105.4
Cost of health index: 104
Cost of housing index: 138
Cost of utilities index: 96
Cost of transportation index: 96
As with most of the cities, the cost of housing has caused Pinehurst to shoot up in the ranking. Moreover, groceries are also quite expensive in this city. One of the reasons that this city is high-priced is because of the tourists attracted to one of the most famous and exclusive resorts in the world, namely Pinehurst Resort.
Mikael Damkier/Shutterstock.com
7. Apex
Cost of groceries index: 101
Cost of health index: 100
Cost of housing index: 144
Cost of utilities index: 106
Cost of transportation index: 98
Apex is, in fact, the suburb of the capital city Raleigh, and although it is considered as one of the best places to live in the entire state, the costs of housing and utilities may be a little unreasonable.
5. Cornelius
Cost of groceries index: 101.9
Cost of health index: 95
Cost of housing index: 131
Cost of utilities index: 99
Cost of transportation index: 101
Cornelius, situated along Lake Norman, ranks number 6 on our list (tied with Chapel Hill) with its housing cost 31% above the US average. This fact puts a strain on the residents of the city as rents are more difficult to pay. The cost of transportation, as mentioned earlier, is almost equal to average but higher than the standard in the state.
Pakhnyushchy/Shutterstock.com
5. Chapel Hill
Cost of groceries index: 102
Cost of health index: 102
Cost of housing index: 183
Cost of utilities index: 88
Cost of transportation index: 99
Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is one of the most expensive cities when it comes to housing with the costs being 83% above the US average. Mortgage rates and house rents are exceptionally high resulting in this huge percentage, but since utilities are not costly, maintenance of one’s residence becomes comparatively easy.
Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com
4. Cary
Cost of groceries index: 101
Cost of health index: 100
Cost of housing index: 160
Cost of utilities index: 106
Cost of transportation index: 98
Cary is the biggest city, (judging by population) in this list with 145,693 inhabitants and although costs in Cary are pretty similar to those in Wake Forest and Apex, it has ranked much higher than the others due to the housing being extremely costly, making it difficult for people to move here. It is definitely one of the most expensive cities in North Carolina.
3. Summerfield
Cost of groceries index: 103.1
Cost of health index: 103
Cost of housing index: 151
Cost of utilities index: 96
Cost of transportation index: 98
Out of the cities chosen, Summerfield has one of the lowest populations with a mere 10,485 residents. But the low population has not had any favorable effect on the cost of housing which stands at a staggering 51% above US average.
Kenishirotie/shutterstock.com
2. Davidson
Cost of groceries index: 101.9
Cost of health index: 95
Cost of housing index: 151
Cost of utilities index: 99
Cost of transportation index: 101
Davidson is another small town on Lake Norman with a population of 11,484. Due to Cornelius being nearby, its average costs are similar to that of Davidson, except housing which is much more expensive over here, i.e., 51% above average as opposed to 31% above average for Cornelius.
1. Leland
Cost of groceries index: 108.4
Cost of health index: 101
Cost of housing index: 102
Cost of utilities index: 112
Cost of transportation index: 103
Leland has the lowest cost of housing in all the cities which make part of this list of 10 most expensive cities to live in North Carolina. But since, it has ranked the highest in the categories of groceries, utilities, and transportation; it has been placed at the top of the list.
Zadorozhnyi Viktor/Shutterstock.com
