Winston-Salem
- Population
- 241,000
- Coordinates
- 36.10° N, 80.24° W
- Time zone
- America/New York
- Prices for
- Sep 2026
One person needs about $2,582 a month in Winston-Salem, rent included: 56% less than in New York. The average net salary is $3,566 a month.
Livability
Seven domain scores, weighted by how much each matters to daily life; each is a percentile among the cities with that data. Ranks count only high-confidence cities: six or more domains and twenty or more contributors.
65out of 100
- Purchasing power25%73
- Safetycountry20%50
- Health carecountry15%59
- Climate10%100
- Air quality10%99
- Connectivitycountry10%66
- Cost10%18
How each domain is scored
- Purchasing power, 25%
- What a local net salary buys against local prices, as a percentile.
- Safety, 20%
- Numbeo safety index for the city, or for its country when the city has no survey.
- Health care, 15%
- Numbeo health care index, city first, then country.
- Climate, 10%
- Numbeo climate index where surveyed, otherwise a comfort score from NASA climate normals.
- Air quality, 10%
- 30-day mean US AQI on a 0-100 scale: 100 at AQI 25 or cleaner, 0 at 150 or worse.
- Connectivity, 10%
- Percentile of median fixed broadband download speed, city first, then country.
- Cost, 10%
- Cheaper places score higher: the percentile of the cost-of-living plus rent index, inverted.
- Livability rank in United States
- #64
- Cheapest-city rank, worldwide
- #3,013
What it costs
US dollars a month. Indices compare with New York, which is 100; changes are against the same month a year earlier.
Cost of living index
76.4
New York = 100, rent excluded
Rent index
31.3
New York = 100
Purchasing power
157.9
Net salary against costs, New York = 100
Net salary
$3,566
Average, after tax
One person
$2,582
$1,148 without rent
Family of four
$6,916
$4,286 without rent
Rent, one bedroom in the centre
$1,434
40% of a net salary
Price to income
6.8
Years of income to buy a 90 m² flat
Prices
55 everyday prices in US dollars, the median of this month's contributions, each against a base you choose.
Compare with
Differences are against New York; teal marks a price that is lower (or a salary that is higher).
| Item | Winston-Salem | New York | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $22.50 | $25.00 | −10% |
| Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant (3 courses) | $80.00 | $140 | −43% |
| McMeal at McDonald's (or equivalent combo meal) | $10.00 | $14.00 | −29% |
| Domestic beer (0.5 l, draught) | $5.00 | $8.00 | −38% |
| Imported beer (0.33 l bottle, restaurant) | $6.00 | $10.00 | −40% |
| Cappuccino (regular) | $5.33 | $6.37 | −16% |
| Coke/Pepsi (0.33 l bottle) | $2.90 | $3.80 | −24% |
| Water (0.33 l bottle) | $2.00 | $2.89 | −31% |
| Markets | |||
| Milk (1 l) | $1.46 | $1.36 | +7% |
| Loaf of fresh white bread (500g) | $4.68 | $4.68 | 0% |
| Rice, white (1 kg) | $9.54 | $6.97 | +37% |
| Eggs (12) | $5.44 | $5.73 | −5% |
| Local cheese (1 kg) | $18.07 | $17.38 | +4% |
| Chicken fillets (1 kg) | $13.74 | $15.11 | −9% |
| Beef round (1 kg, or equivalent red meat) | $27.19 | $17.77 | +53% |
| Apples (1 kg) | $7.93 | $6.11 | +30% |
| Bananas (1 kg) | $3.08 | $2.20 | +40% |
| Oranges (1 kg) | $6.83 | $5.77 | +18% |
| Tomato (1 kg) | $7.50 | $6.25 | +20% |
| Potato (1 kg) | $4.80 | $3.47 | +38% |
| Onion (1 kg) | $6.17 | $4.17 | +48% |
| Lettuce (1 head) | $2.80 | $2.72 | +3% |
| Water (1.5 l bottle) | $3.50 | $2.50 | +40% |
| Bottle of wine, mid-range | $14.99 | $20.00 | −25% |
| Domestic beer (0.5 l bottle) | $1.65 | $3.21 | −49% |
| Imported beer (0.33 l bottle) | $4.48 | $3.96 | +13% |
| Cigarettes (20 pack, Marlboro) | $7.95 | $19.00 | −58% |
| Transport | |||
| One-way ticket, local transport | $2.00 | $3.00 | −33% |
| Monthly pass, regular price | $30.00 | $140 | −79% |
| Taxi start, normal tariff | $7.00 | $3.00 | +133% |
| Taxi, 1 km, normal tariff | $2.29 | $2.18 | +5% |
| Taxi, 1 hour waiting, normal tariff | $15.00 | $42.00 | −64% |
| Gasoline (1 l) | $0.90 | $1.10 | −18% |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (or equivalent new car) | $35,535 | $35,458 | 0% |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW (or equivalent new car) | $25,859 | $25,309 | +2% |
| Utilities, per month | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage) | — | — | — |
| Mobile plan (calls + 10GB data) | $51.66 | $73.50 | −30% |
| Internet (60 Mbps+, unlimited, cable/ADSL) | $62.50 | $71.93 | −13% |
| Sports and leisure | |||
| Fitness club, monthly fee (1 adult) | $48.75 | $126 | −61% |
| Tennis court rent (1 hour, weekend) | $16.00 | $62.38 | −74% |
| Cinema, 1 seat, international release | $12.00 | $23.00 | −48% |
| Childcare | |||
| Preschool, full day, private (monthly, 1 child) | $1,302 | $3,366 | −61% |
| International primary school (yearly, 1 child) | $10,000 | $60,589 | −83% |
| Clothing and shoes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (Levi's 501 or similar) | $39.00 | $72.80 | −46% |
| 1 summer dress, chain store (Zara, H&M) | $31.25 | $53.22 | −41% |
| 1 pair of Nike running shoes, mid-range | $85.80 | $118 | −27% |
| 1 pair of men's leather business shoes | $95.00 | $125 | −24% |
| Rent, per month | |||
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in city centre | $1,434 | $4,417 | −68% |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) outside centre | $949 | $3,033 | −69% |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in city centre | $2,630 | $9,242 | −72% |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) outside centre | $1,922 | $5,461 | −65% |
| Buying an apartment | |||
| Price per square meter, apartment in city centre | $6,394 | $18,759 | −66% |
| Price per square meter, apartment outside centre | $3,251 | $6,523 | −50% |
| Salary and financing | |||
| Average monthly net salary, after tax | $3,566 | $5,178 | −31% |
| Mortgage interest rate, 20-year fixed rate (%) | 6.04% | 6.49% | −0.5 pts |
Three years of prices
Each line starts at 100 in its first month, so a rise in rent can be read against a rise in salary on the same scale. The core basket is twelve everyday prices. Hover for the actual values.
Show the monthly values
| Month | Core basket index | Rent, 1 bedroom | Net salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | — | $1,434 | $3,566 |
| Jul 2026 | — | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | — | — | — |
| May 2026 | 72.7 | $1,426 | $3,557 |
| Apr 2026 | 73.6 | $1,426 | $3,557 |
| Mar 2026 | 73.5 | $1,426 | $3,557 |
| Jan 2026 | 72.6 | $1,500 | $3,490 |
| Dec 2025 | 71.6 | $1,500 | $3,500 |
| Nov 2025 | 71.6 | $1,392 | $3,460 |
| Oct 2025 | — | — | $3,573 |
| Aug 2025 | 70.4 | $1,490 | $3,573 |
| Jul 2025 | 70.4 | $1,490 | $3,573 |
| May 2025 | 71.2 | $1,490 | $3,573 |
| Apr 2025 | 71.1 | $1,490 | $3,573 |
| Mar 2025 | 71.3 | $1,490 | $3,584 |
| Feb 2025 | 71.5 | $1,490 | $3,594 |
| Jan 2025 | 67.9 | $1,490 | $3,594 |
| Dec 2024 | 70.1 | $1,490 | $3,587 |
| Nov 2024 | 70.3 | $1,490 | $3,580 |
| Oct 2024 | 65.6 | $1,363 | $3,644 |
| Sep 2024 | 61.7 | $1,363 | $3,683 |
| Aug 2024 | 62.1 | $1,448 | $3,637 |
| Jul 2024 | 62.1 | $1,533 | $3,592 |
| Jun 2024 | 62.1 | $1,533 | $3,592 |
| May 2024 | 62.1 | $1,533 | $3,683 |
| Apr 2024 | 62.1 | $1,533 | $3,683 |
| Mar 2024 | 62.1 | $1,533 | $3,683 |
| Feb 2024 | 52.5 | $1,300 | $3,683 |
| Jan 2024 | 51.4 | $1,300 | $4,189 |
| Dec 2023 | 52.7 | $1,300 | $4,189 |
| Nov 2023 | 53.7 | $1,300 | $4,189 |
| Oct 2023 | — | $1,300 | $4,189 |
Safety
Numbeo crime survey. Both indices run 0 to 100; they are two sides of the same answers.
Country-level: the livability score uses United States's safety figure
No crime survey has been published for Winston-Salem yet.
Quality of life
Numbeo's published indices for Winston-Salem. Listed as Numbeo computes them, next to this index's own figures above.
- Cost of living (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 80.3
- Rent (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 33.0
- Groceries (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 106.3
- Restaurants (Numbeo)New York = 100
- 75.2
Climate
Monthly means from NASA POWER climate normals. Temperature bands use the same scale on every city page.
°C3591520242626221595Rain, mm74759093103109115112107888893JFMAMJJASOND
- Annual mean
- 14.9 °C
- Warmest monthJuly
- 26.2 °C
- Coldest monthJanuary
- 2.8 °C
- Rain a year
- 1,147 mm
- HumidityRelative, annual mean
- 75%
- SunshineSolar energy per day
- 4.3 kWh/m²
- Clear-sky daysA year
- 34
- Comfort score0-100, 100 at 14-22 °C
- 100
Air, internet and housing
The last 30 days of air, the latest month of broadband tests, and the property survey.
Air
Good
US AQI, the latest day
- Unhealthy days
- 0AQI above 100
- Worst day
- 26
- PM2.5
- 3.2µg/m³, mean
- Air score
- 990-100
Internet
United States median; city not listed307Mbps download, fixed broadband, median
- Upload
- 64Mbps, fixed
- Latency
- 12ms, fixed
- Mobile download
- 187Mbps
- Mobile latency
- 27ms
Speedtest Global Index, Aug 2026.
Housing
$6,394Per m² to buy in the centre, $3,251 outside
- Price to income
- 6.8Years of income, 90 m² flat
- Price to rent
- 20.3Years of rent, centre
- Rental yield
- 4.9%Gross, centre
- Mortgage rate
- 6.04%20-year fixed
- 80 m² in the centre
- 12.0Years of net salary
Numbeo property survey, 20 Sept 2026.
Cities like Winston-Salem
In other countries, with the closest livability score and cost of living index.
About these numbers
What the figures on this page rest on.
- Confidence
- Medium confidence
- Contributors
- 17Numbeo price survey
- Latest prices
- Sep 20261 readings that month
- Months with prices
- 8 of 12Last 12 months
- Items priced
- 98%1 basket items from the country median
- Location
- Matched to a GeoNames reference city
- Index rebuilt
- 24 Sept 2026