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.

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.

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.