North Carolina vs Texas

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in North Carolina is worth

$106,045

at national prices · RPP 94.3BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Texas is worth

$102,987

at national prices · RPP 97.1BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes −$3,058 less far in Texas (−2.9% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

North Carolina: $100,000 ÷ (94.3 ÷ 100) = $106,045

Texas: $100,000 ÷ (97.1 ÷ 100) = $102,987

difference: $102,987 − $106,045 = −$3,058

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	North Carolina	Texas	Difference
All items	94.3	97.1	+3.0%
Housing rents	81.4	96.5	+18.6%
Goods	96.6	98.1	+1.6%
Utilities	88.6	87.5	−1.2%
Other services	98.2	97.1	−1.1%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

North CarolinaMedian rent$1,228/moMedian home$288,900

TexasMedian rent$1,403/moMedian home$283,800

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	North Carolina	Texas
Income tax (top rate)	3.99%	None
Sales tax (combined avg)	7.00%	8.20%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

North Carolina vs Texas: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from North Carolina to Texas and its purchasing power changes from $106,045 to $102,987 in national-average terms — a loss of $3,058. North Carolina is the cheaper of the two, running at 94.3 on the price index versus 97.1.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: North Carolina sits at 81.4 and Texas at 96.5 (100 = national). North Carolina has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,228 in North Carolina against $1,403 in Texas, and the typical home $288,900 versus $283,800. Texas is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, North Carolina has 3.99% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 7.00%; Texas has no wage income tax and 8.20%. That income-tax difference can outweigh a chunk of the cost-of-living gap for higher earners.

Full profiles: North Carolina ·Texas. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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