City housing comparison

Raleigh vs Charlotte: Housing Costs Compared

Compare Raleigh, NC and Charlotte, NC using 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year housing and income estimates.

Quick answer

Raleigh has lower reported median rent

Median gross rent is $40 lower per month in Raleigh. The income associated with a 30% rent target is $1,600 lower per year there.

This is a housing baseline, not an overall winner or a complete cost-of-living comparison.

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Compare housing costs using the same 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year definitions and calculations.

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Side-by-side data

Housing and income benchmarks

MetricRaleighCharlotte
Median gross rent$1,572/mo±$23 MOE$1,612/mo±$16 MOE
Income for 30% rent target$62,900±$900 derived MOE$64,500±$600 derived MOE
Median household income$85,395±$2,159 MOE$82,068±$1,299 MOE
Median home value$415,800±$7,720 MOE$385,700±$4,266 MOE
Home value-to-income4.9x4.7x
Owner-occupied homes51%51%

Decision signals

What the differences mean

01

Renting baseline

Raleigh has $40 lower reported monthly median gross rent. Keeping that rent near 30% of gross income corresponds to $1,600 less annual household income than in Charlotte.

02

Household income context

The $3,327 reported income gap does not exceed the combined 90% margin of error, so this dataset cannot confirm which city has higher underlying median household income. Citywide medians do not show an individual household's job offer, debt or family size.

03

Buying pressure

Charlotte reports a $30,100 lower median home value. Charlotte has the lower home value-to-income baseline by 0.2x. This does not include mortgage rates, taxes, insurance, maintenance or down payment requirements.

04

Ownership mix

Charlotte has an owner-occupied share 0.3 percentage points higher. Ownership share describes occupied housing, not homes currently available for sale.

City guide

Raleigh, NC

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City guide

Charlotte, NC

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Comparison questions

Which city has lower median rent?

Raleigh has lower reported median gross rent by $40 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

Which city needs less income for the 30% rent benchmark?

Raleigh has the lower reported annual income target by $1,600.

Does this compare total cost of living?

No. It compares housing, household income and ownership measures. Food, transportation, taxes, health care and live listings are outside the current scope.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Jul 11, 2026 at 11:49 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.