Memphis vs Raleigh - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Memphis	Raleigh
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1917	$2265
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4608	$5273
🏠 One person rent	$1113	$1374
🏘️ Family rent	$1707	$2201
🍽️ Food expenses	$568	$624
🚐 Transport expenses	$89.1	$89.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3719	$4362
😷 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 15% less expensive than in Raleigh. Cities ranked 2305th and 1363rd ($1917 vs $2265) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1739th and 1143rd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Memphis compared to 1.9 months in Raleigh. Ranked 96th vs 54th best cities to live in the United States, and 311th vs 219th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/memphis/raleigh.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Memphis vs Raleigh infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/memphis/raleigh" target="_blank">Memphis vs Raleigh - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

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	$18.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$65.2	$69.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.9	$10.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.76	$5.64
☕ Cappuccino	$5.23	$6.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.3	$2.82
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1107	$1531
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$892	$1084
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1660	$2619
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1418	$1754
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$112	$138
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$175	$211
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$65.6	$63.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.01%	6.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1785	$3898
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1360	$2197
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1	$1.42
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$49.5	$47.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$12.6	$16.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.86	$0.81
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.92	$0.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.63	$3.23
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.24	$2.67
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.9	$4.61
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.6	$14.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.32	$10.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.5	$17.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.26	$5.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.84	$4.7
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.64	$5.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.33	$3.01
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.51	$3.55
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.58	$1.53
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.16	$2.65
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.6	$15.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.08	$2.96
🚬 Cigarette pack	$8.79	$9.18
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.17	$12.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.97	$4.45
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.1	$3.97
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.32	$2.95
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$29.6	$42.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$12.5	$15
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$132	$127
💇 Haircut, simple	$13.7	$28.8
👖 Brand Jeans	$44	$52.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$78.5	$101
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1698	$1475
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$27334	$24243

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	$2405
17 km or 10 mi	Bartlett	$2185
17 km or 10 mi	Southaven	$1891
19 km or 12 mi	Horn Lake	$1979
19 km or 12 mi	West Memphis	$1888
21 km or 13 mi	Olive Branch	$2058
27 km or 17 mi	Collierville	$2300
38 km or 24 mi	Atoka	$2171
94 km or 58 mi	Oxford	$1985
103 km or 64 mi	Jonesboro	$1782
115 km or 71 mi	Paragould	$1890
116 km or 72 mi	Dyersburg	$2079
119 km or 74 mi	Jackson	$1838
149 km or 92 mi	Tupelo	$1588
161 km or 100 mi	Searcy	$1829
187 km or 116 mi	Poplar Bluff	$1534
187 km or 116 mi	Cabot	$1638
197 km or 123 mi	Jacksonville	$1816
207 km or 128 mi	Sherwood	$1883
212 km or 132 mi	Starkville	$1525
213 km or 132 mi	Pine Bluff	$1862
213 km or 132 mi	North Little Rock	$1922
213 km or 132 mi	Florence	$1427
215 km or 134 mi	Greenville	$1940
219 km or 136 mi	Little Rock	$1868
223 km or 139 mi	Murray	$1818
226 km or 140 mi	Conway	$1756
230 km or 143 mi	Columbus	$1749
245 km or 153 mi	Benton	$1968
247 km or 153 mi	Cape Girardeau	$1725
249 km or 154 mi	Paducah	$1686
271 km or 168 mi	Columbia	$2027
276 km or 172 mi	Athens	$1812
279 km or 173 mi	Decatur	$1666
283 km or 176 mi	Clarksville	$2074
286 km or 178 mi	Spring Hill	$2291
288 km or 179 mi	Russellville	$1429
290 km or 180 mi	Hot Springs	$1427
295 km or 183 mi	Hopkinsville	$1829
296 km or 184 mi	Franklin	$2809

Cities near Raleigh

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.6 mi	Garner	$2229
15 km or 9.1 mi	Cary	$2483
17 km or 10 mi	Morrisville	$1850
21 km or 13 mi	Wake Forest	$2169
21 km or 13 mi	Apex	$2280
25 km or 16 mi	Holly Springs	$2300
28 km or 18 mi	Fuquay-Varina	$2241
30 km or 19 mi	Durham	$2063
38 km or 23 mi	Chapel Hill	$2133
60 km or 37 mi	Henderson	$2116
61 km or 38 mi	Sanford	$1842
65 km or 41 mi	Wilson	$2016
77 km or 48 mi	Rocky Mount	$1803
77 km or 48 mi	Goldsboro	$1766
78 km or 49 mi	Burlington	$2089
87 km or 54 mi	Fayetteville	$2212
106 km or 66 mi	Asheboro	$2059
109 km or 68 mi	Danville	$1775
110 km or 68 mi	Greensboro	$2027
114 km or 71 mi	Roanoke Rapids	$2055
114 km or 71 mi	Kinston	$2073
117 km or 73 mi	Greenville	$2045
123 km or 76 mi	High Point	$1909
129 km or 80 mi	Thomasville	$2007
133 km or 83 mi	Kernersville	$2200
137 km or 85 mi	Lumberton	$1863
141 km or 87 mi	Rockingham	$2070
149 km or 92 mi	Winston-Salem	$2105
163 km or 101 mi	Jacksonville	$2007
165 km or 103 mi	New Bern	$1849
166 km or 103 mi	Salisbury	$2075
182 km or 113 mi	Kannapolis	$2031
182 km or 113 mi	Lynchburg	$1851
183 km or 114 mi	Concord	$1904
189 km or 117 mi	Havelock	$2003
190 km or 118 mi	Wilmington	$2295
191 km or 119 mi	Petersburg	$2375
196 km or 122 mi	Monroe	$2129
196 km or 122 mi	Mint Hill	$2204
198 km or 123 mi	Roanoke	$1729