Overall
Diff -0.9 RPP
Albany vs Chico
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chico is 0.9% less expensive than Albany.
0.9% less expensive
Chico, CA is 0.9% less expensive than Albany, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.2 vs 102.1). A $100,000 salary in Albany buys about the same as $99,116 in Chico; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 102.1 (Albany) vs 101.2 (Chico)
- $100k in Albany ≈ $99,116 purchasing power in Chico
- Services drives the gap (+54.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OR:CA 102.1→101.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OR × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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
102.1
Cost Index
Chico
101.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Albany, OR and Chico, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.9 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Chico is 54.0 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Albany to $99,116 in Chico, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
Diff +54.0 RPP
Rents
Diff -9.1 RPP
| Category | Albany | Chico | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 102.1 | 101.2 | -0.9 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 105.2 | -0.1 |
| Services | 104.8 | 158.8 | +54.0 |
| Rents | 101.1 | 91.9 | -9.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Albany 102.1
Chico 101.2
Goods
Albany 105.3
Chico 105.2
Services
Albany 104.8
Chico 158.8
Rents
Albany 101.1
Chico 91.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Albany would need to be in Chico for the same purchasing power:
| In Albany | In Chico | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,558 | $-442 |
| $75,000 | $74,337 | $-663 |
| $100,000 | $99,116 | $-884 |
| $150,000 | $148,673 | $-1,327 |
$ in Albany = in Chico
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (102.1 → 101.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chico more expensive than Albany?
Chico is 0.9% less expensive than Albany. The overall cost index is 101.2 vs 102.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chico equals $100K in Albany?
A $100,000 salary in Albany has the same purchasing power as $99,116 in Chico. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Albany and Chico?
Rents in Albany are indexed at 101.1 while Chico is at 91.9 (national average = 100). Albany 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.