What is the cost of living in Durham-Chapel Hill?

Durham-Chapel Hill has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 97.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 98.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,711/month.

What is the median salary in Durham-Chapel Hill?

The median salary in Durham-Chapel Hill is $71,457 annually (mean: $76,258). Top occupations include Software Developers, Retail Salespersons, Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants.

How safe is Durham-Chapel Hill?

The violent crime rate in the Durham-Chapel Hill area is 365 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1930 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Durham-Chapel Hill?

The state of NC has 2,703 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Durham-Chapel Hill?

Infant center-based childcare in the Durham-Chapel Hill area averages $9,487 per year. Preschool averages $6,548/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Durham-Chapel Hill a good place to relocate?

Durham-Chapel Hill has a Life Score of 55.5/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Durham-Chapel Hill sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Durham-Chapel Hill ranks #216 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

BEA RPP 97.6 ranks #269 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

97.6
Cost index (US=100): $1,711
2BR rent / mo: $71,457
Median salary: 49.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Durham-Chapel Hill ranks #216 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (49.9/100), with its strongest marks in safety and job market.

#216
of 387 US metros · Near median: 11,046,024
metro-area population: 365
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,703
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (20/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Durham-Chapel Hill ranks #216 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 97.6 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,711/mo, median salary $71,457; LiveAbility Score 49.9/100, strongest in safety and job market.

Signature: BEA RPP 97.6 ranks #269 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 97.6 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,711/mo.

LiveAbility 49.9/100 keeps Durham-Chapel Hill in the middle third (#216 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Durham-Chapel Hill area is 295,700.

Durham-Chapel Hill vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

50 Top 56% higher than 44% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Durham-Chapel Hill housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Durham-Chapel Hill MSA; housing RPP 98.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,711/mo.

Studio

$1,417

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,507

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,711

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,117

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,527

/month

Durham-Chapel Hill wages and employment

Durham-Chapel Hill posts 295,700 total employment with median salary $71,457 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$71,457

Mean Salary

$76,258

Total Employment

295,700

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Software Developers	$135,620
Retail Salespersons	$31,790
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	$46,860
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,170
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$37,750

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Durham-Chapel Hill area from NCES.

Schools

2,703

Enrollment

1,544,406

Student:Teacher

15.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Durham-Chapel Hill area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Durham-Chapel Hill's composite Life Score is 55.5/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

31/100

Weak

Wages

84/100

Elite

Rent

20/100

Weak

Crime

95/100

Elite

Schools

59/100

Above average

Childcare

60/100

Above average

Environment

34/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Durham-Chapel Hill ranks #216 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 49.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (95/100)

Safety

95
Job market

85
Climate

76
Low hazard

43
Schools

42
Cost of living

31
Housing

20
Air quality

20

What this shows Durham-Chapel Hill's strongest dimensions are safety and job market; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 20/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Durham-Chapel Hill to

Santa Cruz-Watsonville Santa Fe Santa Maria-Santa Barbara Santa Rosa-Petaluma Savannah Scranton--Wilkes-Barre

Metros near Durham-Chapel Hill on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Durham-Chapel Hill on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Durham-Chapel Hill cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Durham-Chapel Hill wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Durham-Chapel Hill?

Durham-Chapel Hill runs a $71,457 median salary at a 97.6 cost index, ranking #216 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Durham-Chapel Hill's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Durham-Chapel Hill head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Durham-Chapel Hill
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.