What is the cost of living in Raleigh-Cary?

Raleigh-Cary has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 103.5, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,750/month.

What is the median salary in Raleigh-Cary?

The median salary in Raleigh-Cary is $68,693 annually (mean: $72,806). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Cashiers.

How safe is Raleigh-Cary?

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

What are the schools like in Raleigh-Cary?

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 Raleigh-Cary?

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

Is Raleigh-Cary a good place to relocate?

Raleigh-Cary has a Life Score of 52.8/100 (D), 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 Raleigh-Cary sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Raleigh-Cary ranks #241 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

Raleigh-Cary, NC

BEA RPP 98.2 ranks #277 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,750
2BR rent / mo: $68,693
Median salary: 48.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Raleigh-Cary ranks #241 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (48.4/100), with its strongest marks in safety and climate.

#241
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: housing (17/100). 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), Raleigh-Cary ranks #241 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,750/mo, median salary $68,693; LiveAbility Score 48.4/100, strongest in safety and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 98.2 ranks #277 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.2 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,750/mo.

LiveAbility 48.4/100 keeps Raleigh-Cary in the middle third (#241 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Raleigh-Cary area is 725,130.

Raleigh-Cary 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)

48 Top 62% higher than 38% 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

Raleigh-Cary housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Raleigh-Cary MSA; housing RPP 103.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,750/mo.

Studio

$1,524

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,596

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,750

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,196

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,936

/month

Raleigh-Cary wages and employment

Raleigh-Cary posts 725,130 total employment with median salary $68,693 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$68,693

Mean Salary

$72,806

Total Employment

725,130

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$33,100
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$38,470
Cashiers	$29,770
Customer Service Representatives	$41,900
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,080

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Raleigh-Cary 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 Raleigh-Cary area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$9,487

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,856

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,548

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Raleigh-Cary's composite Life Score is 52.8/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

28/100

Weak

Wages

75/100

Strong

Rent

17/100

Bottom decile

Crime

93/100

Elite

Schools

61/100

Above average

Childcare

58/100

Above average

Environment

36/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Raleigh-Cary ranks #241 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 48.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (93/100)

Safety

93
Climate

81
Job market

75
Low hazard

41
Schools

39
Air quality

31
Cost of living

29
Housing

17

What this shows Raleigh-Cary's strongest dimensions are safety and climate; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 17/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Raleigh-Cary to

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles Sandusky Santa Cruz-Watsonville Santa Fe Santa Maria-Santa Barbara

Metros near Raleigh-Cary on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Raleigh-Cary 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

Raleigh-Cary cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Raleigh-Cary 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 Raleigh-Cary?

Raleigh-Cary runs a $68,693 median salary at a 98.2 cost index, ranking #241 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Raleigh-Cary's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Raleigh-Cary head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Raleigh-Cary
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.