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Cost of Living Comparison

Select two U.S. metro areas to run a side-by-side cost of living comparison on BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) indices for goods, services, and housing, plus salary equivalents.

PlainCost compares any two U.S. metro areas on official BEA Regional Price Parity data.

This cost of living comparison tool covers 387 metropolitan statistical areas. Pick Metro A and Metro B to see overall RPP, goods, services, and rents side by side, plus what a salary in one city is worth in the other. National average RPP is 100.

  • 387 BEA-tracked metros available to compare
  • Component breakdown separates goods, services, and rents

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, this comparison draws on 2024 Regional Price Parity data covering 387 metropolitan statistical areas, refreshed into this site in May 2026. See the methodology for full source attribution.

Popular Comparisons

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ vs Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN vs Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX vs Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX vs Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV vs Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD vs Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL vs Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA vs Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ vs Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH vs San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA vs Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA vs Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

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Cost Calculator → Cost Rankings → All Metros → Methodology →

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by Metropolitan Statistical Area Index where U.S. average = 100

Download the compiled Regional Price Parities extract cited on this page: regional-price-parities.csv (CC BY 4.0). Method notes live on /methodology and /data.