Overall
Diff -0.4 RPP
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton vs Albany-Schenectady-Troy
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Albany-Schenectady-Troy is 0.4% less expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton.
0.4% less expensive
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY is 0.4% less expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 99.6 vs 100.0). A $100,000 salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton buys about the same as $99,598 in Albany-Schenectady-Troy; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.0 (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton) vs 99.6 (Albany-Schenectady-Troy)
- $100k in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton ≈ $99,598 purchasing power in Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- Services drives the gap (+26.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:NY 100.0→99.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × NY
- 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.
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
100.0
Cost Index
Albany-Schenectady-Troy
99.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ and Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Albany-Schenectady-Troy is 26.5 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton to $99,598 in Albany-Schenectady-Troy, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -0.9 RPP
Services
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- 134.0
Diff +26.5 RPP
Rents
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- 102.6
Diff -2.9 RPP
| Category | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | Albany-Schenectady-Troy | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.0 | 99.6 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 99.7 | -0.9 |
| Services | 107.6 | 134.0 | +26.5 |
| Rents | 105.5 | 102.6 | -2.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.0
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 99.6
Goods
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.6
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 99.7
Services
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 107.6
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 134.0
Rents
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 105.5
Albany-Schenectady-Troy 102.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton would need to be in Albany-Schenectady-Troy for the same purchasing power:
| In Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | In Albany-Schenectady-Troy | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,799 | $-201 |
| $75,000 | $74,698 | $-302 |
| $100,000 | $99,598 | $-402 |
| $150,000 | $149,397 | $-603 |
$ in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton = in Albany-Schenectady-Troy
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.0 → 99.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Albany-Schenectady-Troy more expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton?
Albany-Schenectady-Troy is 0.4% less expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton. The overall cost index is 99.6 vs 100.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Albany-Schenectady-Troy equals $100K in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton?
A $100,000 salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton has the same purchasing power as $99,598 in Albany-Schenectady-Troy. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and Albany-Schenectady-Troy?
Rents in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton are indexed at 105.5 while Albany-Schenectady-Troy is at 102.6 (national average = 100). Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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.