Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff -1.3 RPP
Albany-Schenectady-Troy vs Lancaster
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lancaster is 1.3% less expensive than Albany-Schenectady-Troy.
1.3% less expensive
Lancaster, PA is 1.3% less expensive than Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 99.6). A $100,000 salary in Albany-Schenectady-Troy buys about the same as $98,685 in Lancaster; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 99.6 (Albany-Schenectady-Troy) vs 98.3 (Lancaster)
- $100k in Albany-Schenectady-Troy ≈ $98,685 purchasing power in Lancaster
- Services drives the gap (-26.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:PA 99.6→98.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × PA
- 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-Schenectady-Troy
99.6
Cost Index
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY and Lancaster, PA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Lancaster is 26.8 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 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Albany-Schenectady-Troy to $98,685 in Lancaster, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff +1.0 RPP
Services
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- 134.0
- Lancaster
- 107.3
Diff -26.8 RPP
Rents
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- 102.6
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff -8.8 RPP
| Category | Albany-Schenectady-Troy | Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 99.6 | 98.3 | -1.3 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 100.7 | +1.0 |
| Services | 134.0 | 107.3 | -26.8 |
| Rents | 102.6 | 93.8 | -8.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 99.6
Lancaster 98.3
Goods
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 99.7
Lancaster 100.7
Services
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 134.0
Lancaster 107.3
Rents
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 102.6
Lancaster 93.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Albany-Schenectady-Troy would need to be in Lancaster for the same purchasing power:
| In Albany-Schenectady-Troy | In Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,343 | $-657 |
| $75,000 | $74,014 | $-986 |
| $100,000 | $98,685 | $-1,315 |
| $150,000 | $148,028 | $-1,972 |
$ in Albany-Schenectady-Troy = in Lancaster
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (99.6 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lancaster more expensive than Albany-Schenectady-Troy?
Lancaster is 1.3% less expensive than Albany-Schenectady-Troy. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 99.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lancaster equals $100K in Albany-Schenectady-Troy?
A $100,000 salary in Albany-Schenectady-Troy has the same purchasing power as $98,685 in Lancaster. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Albany-Schenectady-Troy and Lancaster?
Rents in Albany-Schenectady-Troy are indexed at 102.6 while Lancaster is at 93.8 (national average = 100). Albany-Schenectady-Troy 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.