Cost Of Living in Washington, NC

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Washington	North Carolina	National
Cost of living	92	94	100
Goods & Services	99	98	100
Groceries	98	98	100
Health care	112	108	100
Housing	77	85	100
Transportation	93	92	100
Utilities	98	94	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Washington is 2% lower than the North Carolina average
The cost of living in Washington is 8% lower than the national average
Washington housing is 23% lower than the national average
North Carolina general sales tax is 7% lower than the national average
North Carolina state income tax is 83% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$59,219	$4,935	$1,382	$1,777
Renters	$19,750	$1,646	$461	$593

To approximate the cost of living and the housing affordability in Washington, NC, we can look at the percentage of income that is available to be spent on monthly housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). To stay on the safe side, a consumer should not spend more than 28% of his or her gross income on housing-related expenses and costs and not more than 36% of income on all expenses and debts. Homeowners in Washington have a median income of $59,219. Therefore, the amount that a consumer should spend on housing costs should be no more than $1,382 per month to avoid calamity and poverty. The renters in the city have an income of about $19,750, which would make their monthly maximum allowable rental costs $461.

North Carolina Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
North Carolina	4.75%	7.5%

North Carolina Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
North Carolina	4.75%	4.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Washington	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.00	$24.26	21.7%
Beauty Salon	$29.58	$45.56	35.1%
Toothpaste	$3.65	$3.70	1.4%
Shampoo	$1.09	$1.28	15.1%
Movie	$10.27	$12.13	15.3%
Bowling	$11.00	$18.00	38.9%

Groceries

Item	Washington	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.93	$5.84	1.5%
Fried Chicken	$1.59	$1.57	0.9%
Milk	$4.57	$4.67	2.1%
Potatoes	$5.18	$4.93	4.9%
Pizza	$10.47	$12.09	13.4%
Beer	$10.29	$10.41	1.1%

Health Care

Item	Washington	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$141.56	$125.68	12.6%
Doctor	$136.38	$135.78	0.4%
Dentist	$100.17	$113.29	11.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.24	$10.65	3.9%
Lipitor	$429.52	$468.60	8.3%

Housing

Item	Washington	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$142,200.00	$184,700.00	23.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,813.02	$2,346.69	22.7%
Apartment Rent	$730.00	$949.00	23.1%

Transportation

Item	Washington	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.45	$3.46	0.5%
Tire Balancing	$63.55	$59.92	6.1%

Utilities

Item	Washington	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$201.14	$193.99	3.7%
Phone	$187.32	$192.25	2.6%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Stokes, NC	600	99	1.4%
Pinetown, NC	76	99	1.4%
Chocowinity, NC	1,331	83	16.6%
Grimesland, NC	392	85	15.2%
Bear Grass, NC	82	85	14.9%
Washington, NC	9,555	92	7.9%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
West Athens, CA	9,554	145	44.9%
Rye Brook, NY	9,554	185	84.5%
White Horse, NJ	9,557	113	13.3%
Cheat Lake, WV	9,559	111	10.6%
Fairmount, CO	9,549	150	50.1%
Washington, NC	9,555	92	7.9%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Washington, NC