Memphis vs Raleigh - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Memphis	Raleigh
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1851	$2317
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4406	$5372
🏠 One person rent	$1052	$1430
🏘️ Family rent	$1518	$2327
🍽️ Food expenses	$564	$612
🚐 Transport expenses	$88	$90.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3391	$4411
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	8 km	14 km
🎓 Higher education	66	82
😀 Quality of life	87	89
🏙️ Population	633K	468K

The cost of living in Memphis is 20% less expensive than in Raleigh. Cities ranked 2663rd and 1246th ($1851 vs $2317) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1875th and 1054th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Memphis compared to 1.9 months in Raleigh. Ranked 112th vs 64th best cities to live in the United States, and 362nd vs 245th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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	$15.2	$18
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$64.9	$72.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.1	$9.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.83	$5.67
☕ Cappuccino	$5.1	$6.02
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.13	$2.48
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$963	$1562
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$841	$1149
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1430	$2603
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1222	$1919
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$122	$133
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$189	$207
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$64.6	$65.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.35%	6.42%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1671	$3603
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1396	$2208
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1	$1.68
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$49.3	$48.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.7	$16.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.75	$0.79
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.92	$0.97
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.42	$3.39
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.7	$2.78
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.99	$4.45
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.3	$14.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.3	$10.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.5	$16.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.06	$5.47
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.76	$1.26
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.38	$4.98
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.58	$5.45
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.02	$2.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.45	$3.36
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$1.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.17	$2.63
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15	$15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.09	$2.92
🚬 Cigarette pack	$8.8	$8.71
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.14	$10.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.95	$4.44
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.1	$3.97
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.34	$2.73
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$27.3	$44.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13	$15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$132	$137
💇 Haircut, simple	$13.5	$28.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$41.8	$54.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$78.3	$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1700	$1374
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$27314	$24650

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	$2378
17 km or 10 mi	Bartlett	$2129
17 km or 10 mi	Southaven	$1881
19 km or 12 mi	Horn Lake	$1953
19 km or 12 mi	West Memphis	$1866
21 km or 13 mi	Olive Branch	$2030
27 km or 17 mi	Collierville	$2266
38 km or 24 mi	Atoka	$2122
94 km or 58 mi	Oxford	$1997
103 km or 64 mi	Jonesboro	$1752
115 km or 71 mi	Paragould	$1867
116 km or 72 mi	Dyersburg	$2070
119 km or 74 mi	Jackson	$1745
149 km or 92 mi	Tupelo	$1605
161 km or 100 mi	Searcy	$1829
187 km or 116 mi	Poplar Bluff	$1667
187 km or 116 mi	Cabot	$1631
197 km or 123 mi	Jacksonville	$1836
207 km or 128 mi	Sherwood	$1915
212 km or 132 mi	Starkville	$1545
213 km or 132 mi	Pine Bluff	$1885
213 km or 132 mi	North Little Rock	$1980
213 km or 132 mi	Florence	$1425
215 km or 134 mi	Greenville	$1962
219 km or 136 mi	Little Rock	$1951
223 km or 139 mi	Murray	$1817
226 km or 140 mi	Conway	$1763
230 km or 143 mi	Columbus	$1747
245 km or 153 mi	Benton	$1992
247 km or 153 mi	Cape Girardeau	$1703
249 km or 154 mi	Paducah	$1703
271 km or 168 mi	Columbia	$2023
276 km or 172 mi	Athens	$1852
279 km or 173 mi	Decatur	$1718
283 km or 176 mi	Clarksville	$2085
286 km or 178 mi	Spring Hill	$2366
288 km or 179 mi	Russellville	$1421
290 km or 180 mi	Hot Springs	$1405
295 km or 183 mi	Hopkinsville	$1815
296 km or 184 mi	Franklin	$2822

Cities near Raleigh

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.6 mi	Garner	$2246
15 km or 9.1 mi	Cary	$2470
17 km or 10 mi	Morrisville	$1831
21 km or 13 mi	Wake Forest	$2194
21 km or 13 mi	Apex	$2278
25 km or 16 mi	Holly Springs	$2313
28 km or 18 mi	Fuquay-Varina	$2242
30 km or 19 mi	Durham	$2109
38 km or 23 mi	Chapel Hill	$2308
60 km or 37 mi	Henderson	$2111
61 km or 38 mi	Sanford	$1943
65 km or 41 mi	Wilson	$2003
77 km or 48 mi	Rocky Mount	$1780
77 km or 48 mi	Goldsboro	$1773
78 km or 49 mi	Burlington	$2123
87 km or 54 mi	Fayetteville	$2159
106 km or 66 mi	Asheboro	$2081
109 km or 68 mi	Danville	$1750
110 km or 68 mi	Greensboro	$2036
114 km or 71 mi	Roanoke Rapids	$2056
114 km or 71 mi	Kinston	$2088
117 km or 73 mi	Greenville	$2057
123 km or 76 mi	High Point	$1917
129 km or 80 mi	Thomasville	$2030
133 km or 83 mi	Kernersville	$2202
137 km or 85 mi	Lumberton	$1987
141 km or 87 mi	Rockingham	$2079
149 km or 92 mi	Winston-Salem	$2122
163 km or 101 mi	Jacksonville	$2001
165 km or 103 mi	New Bern	$1847
166 km or 103 mi	Salisbury	$2080
182 km or 113 mi	Kannapolis	$2027
182 km or 113 mi	Lynchburg	$1814
183 km or 114 mi	Concord	$1963
189 km or 117 mi	Havelock	$1969
190 km or 118 mi	Wilmington	$2211
191 km or 119 mi	Petersburg	$2378
196 km or 122 mi	Monroe	$2126
196 km or 122 mi	Mint Hill	$2174
198 km or 123 mi	Roanoke	$1736