Is Raleigh Good for FIRE?
Raleigh, NC, Cost of Living, Housing & Early Retirement Guide
This page looks at whether Raleigh is likely to help or hurt a financial independence plan based on housing costs, tax drag, and how much room may be left in the budget after essentials.
Housing costs in Raleigh
Raleigh often comes up as a FIRE-friendly city because housing costs are typically lower than major coastal markets while still offering a strong white-collar economy.
It can be especially compelling when paired with remote work or strong local income because the housing burden is often easier to carry.
The advantage is most meaningful when you are actually reducing expenses relative to your current city, not just moving laterally.
Can you reach FIRE in Raleigh?
Financial independence in Raleigh is possible, but the more useful question is whether the city helps or hurts the math relative to your income. A city becomes FIRE-friendly when your recurring expenses stay low enough that you can both save aggressively and retire on a smaller portfolio.
In practice, that means looking at housing first, then taxes, then how much flexibility remains in your monthly budget. Raleigh is not automatically good or bad for FIRE in absolute terms. It depends on whether your income is strong enough to support the city’s cost structure.
Raleigh is usually most relevant for remote workers, professionals, and households trying to balance career options with lower recurring costs.
Frequently asked questions about FIRE in Raleigh
- Is Raleigh a good place to retire early?
- It depends on your income and spending pattern. The city is more favorable when housing costs are manageable relative to your take-home pay and when the rest of your recurring expenses stay under control.
- How much do I need to retire early in Raleigh?
- Your real FIRE number depends on your full annual spending, not housing alone. A rough first-pass approach is to estimate total yearly expenses in Raleigh and multiply by 25 using a 4% withdrawal rate.
- How does moving to Raleigh affect my FIRE timeline?
- If Raleigh lowers your recurring expenses relative to your current city, it can both reduce the portfolio you need and increase how much you save each month. Those two effects together can materially shorten the path to FIRE.
- What should I look at first when evaluating Raleigh for FIRE?
- Start with housing costs, then look at tax drag and your expected income. That gives a much more useful signal than broad rankings alone.
Compare Raleigh with other FIRE cities
Explore a smaller set of FIRE-focused city pages instead of a broad low-value inventory.
Model your FIRE timeline in Raleigh
Use the relocation calculator to estimate your post-move budget in Raleigh, then plug that number into the FIRE calculator to see how relocating may change your timeline.
Raleigh at a glance, single filer on $100,000
2026 taxes on $100,000 in Raleigh
| Tax on $100,000 | Raleigh |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $13,170 |
| Social Security and Medicare | $7,650 |
| North Carolina income tax | $3,481 |
| City income tax | $0 |
| State payroll programs | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $75,699 |
| Share of pay paid in tax | 24.3% |
Single filer, wages only, standard deduction, no 401(k) contribution. Federal figures follow IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32; state and city rules are on the methodology page.
What is left to save in Raleigh at every salary
| Salary | Take-home a year | Take-home a month | After typical rent a month | Rent share of take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $40,869 | $3,406 | $1,865 | 45.2% |
| $75,000 | $59,109 | $4,926 | $3,385 | 31.3% |
| $100,000 | $75,699 | $6,308 | $4,767 | 24.4% |
| $150,000 | $108,315 | $9,026 | $7,485 | 17.1% |
| $250,000 | $173,716 | $14,476 | $12,935 | 10.6% |
Take-home is after 2026 federal, state, local and payroll tax. Rent is the typical Census figure for recent movers. Food, transportation, insurance and other costs are not subtracted.
What Raleigh costs compared with the U.S.
| Measure | Raleigh | U.S. | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall price level (U.S. = 100) | 98.2 | 100.0 | -1.8 |
| Housing price level | 103.5 | 100.0 | +3.5 |
| Utilities price level | 89.0 | 100.0 | -11.0 |
| Goods price level | 96.6 | 100.0 | -3.4 |
| Typical rent (monthly) | $1,541 | $1,411 | +$130 |
| Typical home value | $454,300 | $375,900 | +$78,400 |
| Median property tax paid (yearly) | $3,048 | $3,119 | -$71 |
| Residential electricity (cents per kWh) | 14.94 | 18.19 | -3.25 |
Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities for the metro area (2024 Regional Price Parities (Bureau of Economic Analysis, released February 2026)); housing, utilities and goods levels are shown against the U.S. average of 100. Rent, home value and property tax are U.S. Census Bureau figures (2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Census Bureau, released December 2025)); electricity is the North Carolina residential price, year-to-date through july 2026.
Renting and buying in Raleigh
| Measure | Raleigh |
|---|---|
| Income to rent the typical home (30% rule) | $61,640 |
| Monthly cost to own the typical home (20% down) | $2,723 |
| Income to buy the typical home (28% rule) | $116,720 |
Owning cost is the mortgage payment on the typical home with 20% down, a 30-year loan at 6.5% (the calculator's starting rate, not a quote), the city's typical property tax rate and $150 a month for insurance. HOA fees and maintenance are not included.
Who moves to and from North Carolina
In the latest IRS migration data (2022-23), 170,751 households filed in North Carolina after filing in another state the year before, and 131,633 did the reverse: a net gain of 39,118 households.
Where people moving to North Carolina come from
- Florida: 20,553 households
- South Carolina: 15,305 households
- Virginia: 15,148 households
- New York: 13,811 households
- California: 9,978 households
- Georgia: 9,082 households
- Texas: 8,694 households
- Pennsylvania: 7,061 households
Where people leaving North Carolina go
- South Carolina: 18,026 households
- Florida: 14,530 households
- Virginia: 12,599 households
- Georgia: 8,487 households
- Texas: 8,387 households
- New York: 6,906 households
- California: 6,470 households
- Tennessee: 5,058 households
Source: IRS Statistics of Income state-to-state migration files. The IRS publishes state totals, not city totals, and counts only people who filed a return in both years.
Where to go next
- Compare a move: see what a change of city does to rent, taxes and take-home pay.
- See the FIRE impact: enter your numbers and use the Move tab to see the change in your timeline.
- Plan it in detail: model withdrawals, taxes and Social Security year by year (Beta).
Raleigh questions
- How much do I keep of a $100,000 salary in Raleigh?
- A single filer on $100,000 keeps about $75,699 a year ($6,308 a month) in Raleigh after 2026 federal, state, local and payroll tax. That is 24.3% of pay paid in tax.
- Is Raleigh expensive?
- Overall prices in the Raleigh area are 1.8% lower than the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities). Typical rent is $1,541 a month, 9% higher than the national figure of $1,411.
- How much income do I need to rent or buy in Raleigh?
- To keep rent at 30% of income, about $61,640 a year covers the typical rent of $1,541. Owning the typical home with 20% down costs about $2,723 a month, which takes about $116,720 a year at 28% of income.
- Are people moving to North Carolina?
- IRS migration data for 2022-23 show 170,751 households moving into North Carolina from other states and 131,633 moving out, a net gain of 39,118 households. These are state totals, not city totals.
- How much can I save in Raleigh on $100,000?
- After taxes and the typical rent of $1,541, a single filer on $100,000 has about $4,767 a month left before food, transport, health care and everything else. How much of that you can save depends on those costs.
Sources and limits
Written and maintained by Relocation By Numbers. Figures were generated on 2026-10-13 from the sources below; tax rules are for tax year 2026. Full methodology
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 tax brackets and standard deduction
- IRS Publication 15 (2026): payroll tax rates
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Census Bureau, released December 2025))
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities (2024 Regional Price Parities (Bureau of Economic Analysis, released February 2026))
- IRS Statistics of Income, state-to-state migration data
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B
- State and city income tax rules, by state
Not included
- Itemized deductions, tax credits and dependents; the figures are for a single filer on wages.
- Neighborhood-level rent and home prices, which can differ widely from a city median.
- Moving costs, car costs, health insurance, child care, food and sales tax.