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Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill, North Carolina has about 61,607 people. Typical rent is $1,613 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $85,989 a year. Both figures are Census 2020–2024 medians, not a listing or your pay. This site does not approve or deny benefits. A missing figure stays blank. We do not guess it.

Ranked #151 in North Carolina on the 2026 Most Affordable Towns Index.

Simple answer

Typical rent is $1,613 a month.

Chapel Hill is a town in North Carolina. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $85,989 a year.

Is Chapel Hill affordable?See benefits in Chapel Hill
People
61,607
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$1,613
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$85,989
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$613,700
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$1,745
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC HUD Metro FMR Area

Chapel Hill, North Carolina has about 61,607 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $613,700.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Orange County is $1,745 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Chapel Hill. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area, prices sit at 97.6 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

North Carolina taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 7.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Chapel Hill's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical North Carolina home paid 15.16¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Chapel Hill's bill.

EIA did not publish a 2025 all-grades gas price for North Carolina in the table we use.

Among 407 places we list in North Carolina with a rent figure, 46 have higher typical rent than Chapel Hill.

Nearby places

EBT nearby

USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.

Find SNAP stores near Chapel HillWhat EBT can buy in North Carolina

Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.

Food stamps (SNAP) tools in North Carolina

Bigger places in North Carolina

Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.