City comparison
Chapel Hill, NC is about 70 miles (100 km) from Winston-Salem, NC in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 90 miles, or about 1 h 30 min behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Chapel Hill, NC to Winston-Salem, NC takes about 8 min, covering roughly 70 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Winston-Salem has a population of 249,571, vs 58,919 in Chapel Hill — about 4.2× larger by population. By land area, Winston-Salem covers about 135 sq mi vs 22 sq mi for Chapel Hill.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Chapel Hill | Winston-Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,419/mo | $956/mo | 48.4% higher in Chapel Hill |
| Median home value | $537,100 | $187,400 | 186.6% higher in Chapel Hill |
| Median household income | $85,940 | $54,416 | 57.9% higher in Chapel Hill |
| Groceries index | 96.8 | 96.8 | ≈ equal |
| Utilities index | 89.8 | 89.1 | 0.8% higher in Chapel Hill |
| Transportation index | 98.4 | 98.4 | ≈ equal |
| Healthcare index | 97.9 | 97.9 | ≈ equal |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Chapel Hill, you'd need $87,983 in Winston-Salem to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Winston-Salem, NC is about 12% cheaper overall than Chapel Hill, NC, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 38% higher in Chapel Hill than in Winston-Salem. If you earn $80,000 in Chapel Hill, you'd need about $70,387 in Winston-Salem to keep the same standard of living.