Overall
Diff +0.4 RPP
Albany vs Sumter
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Sumter is 0.4% more expensive than Albany.
0.4% more expensive
Sumter, SC is 0.4% more expensive than Albany, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Albany buys about the same as $100,400 in Sumter; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Albany) vs 88.0 (Sumter)
- $100k in Albany ≈ $100,400 purchasing power in Sumter
- Rents drives the gap (+6.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:SC 87.7→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE GA × SC
- 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.
Albany
87.7
Cost Index
Sumter
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Albany, GA and Sumter, SC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Sumter is 6.2 points higher. But services 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 Albany corresponds to $100,400 in Sumter.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
Diff -1.0 RPP
Rents
Diff +6.2 RPP
| Category | Albany | Sumter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 88.0 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.3 | +0.1 |
| Services | 88.3 | 87.3 | -1.0 |
| Rents | 54.6 | 60.8 | +6.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Albany 87.7
Sumter 88.0
Goods
Albany 96.3
Sumter 96.3
Services
Albany 88.3
Sumter 87.3
Rents
Albany 54.6
Sumter 60.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Albany would need to be in Sumter for the same purchasing power:
| In Albany | In Sumter | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,200 | +$200 |
| $75,000 | $75,300 | +$300 |
| $100,000 | $100,400 | +$400 |
| $150,000 | $150,601 | +$601 |
$ in Albany = in Sumter
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sumter more expensive than Albany?
Sumter is 0.4% more expensive than Albany. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Sumter equals $100K in Albany?
A $100,000 salary in Albany has the same purchasing power as $100,400 in Sumter. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Albany and Sumter?
Rents in Albany are indexed at 54.6 while Sumter is at 60.8 (national average = 100). Sumter 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.