COMPARE COST OF LIVING

San Mateo County, CA→Wake County, NC

Equivalent salary in Wake County, NC

$33,850

-32.3% lower

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in San Mateo County, CA: $184,583

Median Income in Wake County, NC: $128,556

Living Index in San Mateo County, CA 47.37

Living Index in Wake County, NC 46.04

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from San Mateo County, CA to Wake County, NC.

* Living index is estimated from (estimated total cost / median_income of area) * 100.A living index above 100% means costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary/TLDR:

Overall your move from San Mateo County, CA → Wake County, NC can dramatically lower your cost of living by a large margin, around 32.3% ($28,239). Should your salary stay at or similar range this could feel like getting a tax-free pay raise of the same amount Moving can lead to meaningful savings especially in Housing, Food, Transport, Healthcare, Other Costs, and Taxes According to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2025 Family Budget data, San Mateo County, CA's Housing costs are 41.1% higher ($30,608 vs. $18,028), driving a large part of the cost difference. Movers could potentially save $12,580 in annual expenses. costs for Wake County, NC , however, rise slightly.

Since Housing is one of the biggest drivers of living costs, this gap alone can noticeably change how the move feels month to month. Because housing is usually the largest line item in a budget, this gap alone can make the move feel noticeably cheaper or more expensive.

Below we break down the key differences driving this gap.

What changed the most?

The following numbers represent which categories have the highest and lowest cost increase when moving to Wake County, NC.

Biggest Increase

Highest new COST when moving to Wake County, NC

Average Cost:

NONE per year

costs are lowest in Wake County, NC.

Smallest Increase

Highest money SAVE when moving to Wake County, NC

Average Cost:

$18,028 per year

HOUSING costs are lowest in Wake County, NC.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	-41.10% lower
San Mateo County, CA Wake County, NC Average Cost $30608.00 $18028.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data represented shows the rental cost at the 40th percentile at a given area for privately owned, rental unit. Studio apartments were paired with 1 adult families, 1 Bedroom apartments with 2 Adult families, and 2 bedroom apartments for families with 1 or 2 children.
Food	-10.78% lower
San Mateo County, CA Wake County, NC Average Cost $5234.00 $4670.00 INFO: Food cost are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plan. Numbers are normalized to each area using weights from Feeding America and the Meal Gap data. This number assumes most food is bought at a local grocery store and then prepared at home.
Transport	-7.46% lower
San Mateo County, CA Wake County, NC Average Cost $14034.00 $12987.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	-25.94% lower
San Mateo County, CA Wake County, NC Average Cost $7017.00 $5197.00 INFO: Health care expenses come from an average of insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The data assumes families purchase the lowest cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family foundation and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	-36.67% lower
San Mateo County, CA Wake County, NC Average Cost $12059.00 $7637.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Taxes	-42.24% lower
San Mateo County, CA Wake County, NC Average Cost $18476.00 $10671.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In your new location your total average costs would be $59190.00 compared to your previous average costs of $87429.00.

The lower price could be attributed to different factors. For example, in larger percentage differences, Large gaps often reflect location metropolitan vs. non-metropolitan cost structures.

In this case Wake County, NC and San Mateo County, CA are both metropolitan locations.

Use our map to visually compare multiple counties at once.

Use the Cost of Living Map