Overall
Diff +4.9 RPP
Akron vs Lancaster
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lancaster is 5.2% more expensive than Akron.
5.2% more expensive
Lancaster, PA is 5.2% more expensive than Akron, OH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 93.4). A $100,000 salary in Akron buys about the same as $105,234 in Lancaster; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.4 (Akron) vs 98.3 (Lancaster)
- $100k in Akron ≈ $105,234 purchasing power in Lancaster
- Rents drives the gap (+17.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OH:PA 93.4→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE OH × PA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Akron would need to be in Lancaster for the same purchasing power:
| In Akron | In Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,617 | +$2,617 |
| $75,000 | $78,926 | +$3,926 |
| $100,000 | $105,234 | +$5,234 |
| $150,000 | $157,851 | +$7,851 |
$ in Akron = in Lancaster
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.4 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Lancaster, PA is 5.2% more expensive than Akron, OH, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.9-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Lancaster 17.0 points higher than Akron. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Akron corresponds to $105,234 in Lancaster.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +7.1 RPP
Services
Diff +10.8 RPP
Rents
Diff +17.0 RPP
| Category | Akron | Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.4 | 98.3 | +4.9 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 100.7 | +7.1 |
| Services | 96.4 | 107.3 | +10.8 |
| Rents | 76.8 | 93.8 | +17.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Akron 93.4
Lancaster 98.3
Goods
Akron 93.6
Lancaster 100.7
Services
Akron 96.4
Lancaster 107.3
Rents
Akron 76.8
Lancaster 93.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Akron
93.4
Cost Index
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Akron and Lancaster share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 7.7 to 4.9 RPP points. Lancaster remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 12.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (1.4 to 10.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Akron RPP | Lancaster RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.5 | 100.2 | 7.7 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 95.5 | 97.8 | 2.3 points Lancaster higher |
| 2016 | 95.2 | 99.4 | 4.2 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 93.5 | 97.9 | 4.4 points Lancaster higher |
| 2024 | 93.4 | 98.3 | 4.9 points Lancaster 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lancaster more expensive than Akron?
Lancaster is 5.2% more expensive than Akron. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 93.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lancaster equals $100K in Akron?
A $100,000 salary in Akron has the same purchasing power as $105,234 in Lancaster. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Akron and Lancaster?
Rents in Akron are indexed at 76.8 while Lancaster is at 93.8 (national average = 100). Lancaster 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.