Atlanta, GA vs Durham, NC
Moving from Atlanta to Durham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($382,938 → $414,340 median home) and taxes.
Atlanta vs Durham at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Atlanta, GA, you'd need about $96,881 in Durham, NC (−$3,119).
Livability — Atlanta, GA: 66 · Durham, NC: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Atlanta vs 2,413 sqft in Durham ($187 vs $207 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Atlanta, GA | Durham, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,080 | $20,436 | −$1,644 |
| Groceries | $4,926 | $4,840 | −$87 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,130 | −$385 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,752 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $2,000 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $10,533 | $9,397 | −$1,136 |
| Total | $44,810 | $41,555 | −$3,256 |
Side by side
| Metric | Atlanta, GA | Durham, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.5 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.04% | 4.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 17.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $382,938 | $414,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $207 |
| Median rent | $1,840 | $1,703 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.85% | 0.87% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 32 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 46.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 5.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |