Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff -1.3 RPP
Albany-Schenectady-Troy vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 1.3% less expensive than Albany-Schenectady-Troy.
1.3% less expensive
Merced, CA 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 $98,703 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 99.6 (Albany-Schenectady-Troy) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Albany-Schenectady-Troy ≈ $98,703 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+24.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:CA 99.6→98.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × CA
- 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
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY and Merced, CA 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: Merced is 24.3 points higher. But services and 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 $98,703 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +5.5 RPP
Services
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- 134.0
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +24.3 RPP
Rents
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- 102.6
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff -24.0 RPP
| Category | Albany-Schenectady-Troy | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 99.6 | 98.3 | -1.3 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 105.2 | +5.5 |
| Services | 134.0 | 158.3 | +24.3 |
| Rents | 102.6 | 78.6 | -24.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 99.6
Merced 98.3
Goods
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 99.7
Merced 105.2
Services
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 134.0
Merced 158.3
Rents
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 102.6
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Albany-Schenectady-Troy would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Albany-Schenectady-Troy | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,352 | $-648 |
| $75,000 | $74,028 | $-972 |
| $100,000 | $98,703 | $-1,297 |
| $150,000 | $148,055 | $-1,945 |
$ in Albany-Schenectady-Troy = in Merced
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 Merced more expensive than Albany-Schenectady-Troy?
Merced 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 Merced equals $100K in Albany-Schenectady-Troy?
A $100,000 salary in Albany-Schenectady-Troy has the same purchasing power as $98,703 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Albany-Schenectady-Troy and Merced?
Rents in Albany-Schenectady-Troy are indexed at 102.6 while Merced is at 78.6 (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.