Overall
Diff +0.1 RPP
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton vs Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell is 0.1% more expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton.
0.1% more expensive
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA is 0.1% more expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.1 vs 100.0). A $100,000 salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton buys about the same as $100,090 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.0 (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton) vs 100.1 (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell)
- $100k in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton ≈ $100,090 purchasing power in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
- Services drives the gap (-11.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:GA 100.0→100.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × GA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
100.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell is 11.4 points lower. 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.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell is above 100 while Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
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 $100,090 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
Diff -11.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +5.5 RPP
| Category | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.0 | 100.1 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 100.4 | -0.2 |
| Services | 107.6 | 96.2 | -11.4 |
| Rents | 105.5 | 111.0 | +5.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.0
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 100.1
Goods
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.6
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 100.4
Services
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 107.6
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 96.2
Rents
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 105.5
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 111.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton would need to be in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell for the same purchasing power:
| In Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,045 | +$45 |
| $75,000 | $75,068 | +$68 |
| $100,000 | $100,090 | +$90 |
| $150,000 | $150,135 | +$135 |
$ in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton = in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.0 → 100.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell more expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton?
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell is 0.1% more expensive than Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton. The overall cost index is 100.1 vs 100.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell equals $100K in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton?
A $100,000 salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton has the same purchasing power as $100,090 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell?
Rents in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton are indexed at 105.5 while Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell is at 111.0 (national average = 100). Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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.