Overall
- Abilene
- 90.4
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 90.0
Diff -0.3 RPP
Abilene vs Beaumont-Port Arthur
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Beaumont-Port Arthur is 0.4% less expensive than Abilene.
0.4% less expensive
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX is 0.4% less expensive than Abilene, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.0 vs 90.4). A $100,000 salary in Abilene buys about the same as $99,648 in Beaumont-Port Arthur; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.4 (Abilene) vs 90.0 (Beaumont-Port Arthur)
- $100k in Abilene ≈ $99,648 purchasing power in Beaumont-Port Arthur
- Rents drives the gap (-2.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:TX 90.4→90.0
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · TX
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Abilene
90.4
Cost Index
Beaumont-Port Arthur
90.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Abilene, TX and Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Beaumont-Port Arthur is 2.9 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Abilene corresponds to $99,648 in Beaumont-Port Arthur.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Abilene
- 93.8
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 93.8
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Abilene
- 81.2
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 83.1
Diff +1.9 RPP
Rents
- Abilene
- 73.8
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 70.9
Diff -2.9 RPP
| Category | Abilene | Beaumont-Port Arthur | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.4 | 90.0 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 | 0.0 |
| Services | 81.2 | 83.1 | +1.9 |
| Rents | 73.8 | 70.9 | -2.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Abilene 90.4
Beaumont-Port Arthur 90.0
Goods
Abilene 93.8
Beaumont-Port Arthur 93.8
Services
Abilene 81.2
Beaumont-Port Arthur 83.1
Rents
Abilene 73.8
Beaumont-Port Arthur 70.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Abilene and Beaumont-Port Arthur share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.2 to 0.3 RPP points. Abilene remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 4.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (2.0 to 2.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Abilene RPP | Beaumont-Port Arthur RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.2 | 93.4 | 1.2 points Beaumont-Port Arthur higher |
| 2012 | 94.1 | 93.3 | 0.8 points Abilene higher |
| 2016 | 93.3 | 94.8 | 1.5 points Beaumont-Port Arthur higher |
| 2020 | 90.3 | 90.1 | 0.1 points Abilene higher |
| 2024 | 90.4 | 90.0 | 0.3 points Abilene higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Abilene would need to be in Beaumont-Port Arthur for the same purchasing power:
| In Abilene | In Beaumont-Port Arthur | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,824 | $-176 |
| $75,000 | $74,736 | $-264 |
| $100,000 | $99,648 | $-352 |
| $150,000 | $149,472 | $-528 |
$ in Abilene = in Beaumont-Port Arthur
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.4 → 90.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Beaumont-Port Arthur more expensive than Abilene?
Beaumont-Port Arthur is 0.4% less expensive than Abilene. The overall cost index is 90.0 vs 90.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur equals $100K in Abilene?
A $100,000 salary in Abilene has the same purchasing power as $99,648 in Beaumont-Port Arthur. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Abilene and Beaumont-Port Arthur?
Rents in Abilene are indexed at 73.8 while Beaumont-Port Arthur is at 70.9 (national average = 100). Abilene has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.