Albany vs Eugene-Springfield

Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Eugene-Springfield is 0.5% less expensive than Albany.

0.5% less expensive

Eugene-Springfield, OR is 0.5% less expensive than Albany, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.6 vs 102.1). A $100,000 salary in Albany buys about the same as $99,479 in Eugene-Springfield; the largest component gap is rents.

  • Overall RPP 102.1 (Albany) vs 101.6 (Eugene-Springfield)
  • $100k in Albany ≈ $99,479 purchasing power in Eugene-Springfield
  • Rents drives the gap (-2.7 RPP points)

RPP parity plate

Pair OR:OR 102.1→101.6

PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR

  • PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
  • SAME-STATE Same state · OR
  • 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
Eugene-Springfield
101.6
Cost Index

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

Albany, OR and Eugene-Springfield, OR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.

Rents creates the largest separation: Eugene-Springfield is 2.7 points lower. But 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 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 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 $99,479 in Eugene-Springfield.

Category Breakdown

Visual Comparison

Overall
Albany
102.1
Eugene-Springfield
101.6
Goods
Albany
105.3
Eugene-Springfield
105.3
Services
Albany
104.8
Eugene-Springfield
102.5
Rents
Albany
101.1
Eugene-Springfield
98.3

Vertical line = national average (100)

Salary Equivalents

What a salary in Albany would need to be in Eugene-Springfield for the same purchasing power:

In Albany In Eugene-Springfield Difference
$50,000 $49,739 $-261
$75,000 $74,609 $-391
$100,000 $99,479 $-521
$150,000 $149,218 $-782
$ in Albany = in Eugene-Springfield

Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (102.1 → 101.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Eugene-Springfield more expensive than Albany?

Eugene-Springfield is 0.5% less expensive than Albany. The overall cost index is 101.6 vs 102.1 (national average = 100).

What salary in Eugene-Springfield equals $100K in Albany?

A $100,000 salary in Albany has the same purchasing power as $99,479 in Eugene-Springfield. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.

How do rents compare between Albany and Eugene-Springfield?

Rents in Albany are indexed at 101.1 while Eugene-Springfield is at 98.3 (national average = 100). Albany has higher rents.

Data sourced from official public datasets, Regional Price Parities (2024), index where national average = 100. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCost. See our methodology for details.

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.