Memphis vs Raleigh - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Memphis	Raleigh
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1874	$2388
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4389	$5530
🏠 One person rent	$1092	$1484
🏘️ Family rent	$1592	$2447
🍽️ Food expenses	$565	$625
🚐 Transport expenses	$70.9	$94.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3516	$4749
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Good
✈️ Airport proximity	8 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	67	82
😀 Quality of life	87	88
🏙️ Population	633K	468K

The cost of living in Memphis is 22% less expensive than in Raleigh. Cities ranked 2179th and 972nd ($1874 vs $2388) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1817th and 892nd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Memphis compared to 2 months in Raleigh. Ranked 73rd vs 51st best cities to live in the United States, and 279th vs 221st among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Memphis vs Raleigh infographic

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Prices in Memphis vs Raleigh

Prices for goods and services in Memphis and Raleigh are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Memphis	Raleigh
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.6	$17.1
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$64.3	$75.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.59	$9.74
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.47	$5.88
☕ Cappuccino	$5.05	$5.37
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.5	$2.31
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$976	$1468
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$883	$1216
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1501	$2614
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1292	$2029
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$126	$149
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$193	$232
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$64.8	$68.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.52%	6.51%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1489	$6077
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1490	$2879
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.24	$2.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$24.2	$58.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.6	$14.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.8	$0.84
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.96	$0.96
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.49	$3.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.59	$3.45
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.19	$3.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.4	$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.14	$11.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.5	$16.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.33	$6.48
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.69	$1.38
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.92	$7.38
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.53	$6.04
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.28	$3.1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.3	$2.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.64	$1.5
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.15	$2.46
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15	$14.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.08	$2.82
🚬 Cigarette pack	$7.63	$7.69
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.17	$8.17
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.97	$4
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.07	$3.38
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.32	$2.7
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.6	$39.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$12.4	$14.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$131	$158
💇 Haircut, simple	$13.6	$24.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$41.4	$52
👟 Brand Sneakers	$77.2	$93.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1469	$1481
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$27369	$21914

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Memphis

Distance	City	Cost of living
16 km or 10 mi	Germantown	$2383
17 km or 10 mi	Bartlett	$2134
17 km or 10 mi	Southaven	$2062
19 km or 12 mi	Horn Lake	$2070
19 km or 12 mi	West Memphis	$1865
21 km or 13 mi	Olive Branch	$2077
27 km or 17 mi	Collierville	$2268
38 km or 24 mi	Atoka	$2117
94 km or 58 mi	Oxford	$2009
103 km or 64 mi	Jonesboro	$1781
115 km or 71 mi	Paragould	$1874
116 km or 72 mi	Dyersburg	$2048
119 km or 74 mi	Jackson	$1717
149 km or 92 mi	Tupelo	$1946
161 km or 100 mi	Searcy	$1831
187 km or 116 mi	Poplar Bluff	$1882
187 km or 116 mi	Cabot	$1645
197 km or 123 mi	Jacksonville	$1830
207 km or 128 mi	Sherwood	$1930
212 km or 132 mi	Starkville	$1617
213 km or 132 mi	Pine Bluff	$1856
213 km or 132 mi	North Little Rock	$1999
213 km or 132 mi	Florence	$1350
215 km or 134 mi	Greenville	$1989
219 km or 136 mi	Little Rock	$1958
223 km or 139 mi	Murray	$1828
226 km or 140 mi	Conway	$1774
230 km or 143 mi	Columbus	$1806
245 km or 153 mi	Benton	$1943
247 km or 153 mi	Cape Girardeau	$1649
249 km or 154 mi	Paducah	$1728
271 km or 168 mi	Columbia	$2031
276 km or 172 mi	Athens	$1839
279 km or 173 mi	Decatur	$1772
283 km or 176 mi	Clarksville	$2075
286 km or 178 mi	Spring Hill	$2607
288 km or 179 mi	Russellville	$1438
290 km or 180 mi	Hot Springs	$1322
295 km or 183 mi	Hopkinsville	$1855
296 km or 184 mi	Franklin	$2738

Cities near Raleigh

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.6 mi	Garner	$2281
15 km or 9.1 mi	Cary	$2616
17 km or 10 mi	Morrisville	$1836
21 km or 13 mi	Wake Forest	$2229
21 km or 13 mi	Apex	$2335
25 km or 16 mi	Holly Springs	$2315
28 km or 18 mi	Fuquay-Varina	$2290
30 km or 19 mi	Durham	$2140
38 km or 23 mi	Chapel Hill	$2309
60 km or 37 mi	Henderson	$2169
61 km or 38 mi	Sanford	$2184
65 km or 41 mi	Wilson	$2073
77 km or 48 mi	Rocky Mount	$2052
77 km or 48 mi	Goldsboro	$1733
78 km or 49 mi	Burlington	$2144
87 km or 54 mi	Fayetteville	$2100
106 km or 66 mi	Asheboro	$2091
109 km or 68 mi	Danville	$1764
110 km or 68 mi	Greensboro	$2011
114 km or 71 mi	Roanoke Rapids	$2117
114 km or 71 mi	Kinston	$2076
117 km or 73 mi	Greenville	$2014
123 km or 76 mi	High Point	$1934
129 km or 80 mi	Thomasville	$2058
133 km or 83 mi	Kernersville	$2169
137 km or 85 mi	Lumberton	$2100
141 km or 87 mi	Rockingham	$2136
149 km or 92 mi	Winston-Salem	$2098
163 km or 101 mi	Jacksonville	$1952
165 km or 103 mi	New Bern	$1819
166 km or 103 mi	Salisbury	$2117
182 km or 113 mi	Kannapolis	$2136
182 km or 113 mi	Lynchburg	$1752
183 km or 114 mi	Concord	$2147
189 km or 117 mi	Havelock	$1976
190 km or 118 mi	Wilmington	$2144
191 km or 119 mi	Petersburg	$2332
196 km or 122 mi	Monroe	$2182
196 km or 122 mi	Mint Hill	$2269
198 km or 123 mi	Roanoke	$1682