Overall
Diff +0.1 RPP
Altoona vs Kokomo
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Kokomo is 0.2% more expensive than Altoona.
0.2% more expensive
Kokomo, IN is 0.2% more expensive than Altoona, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.6 vs 89.5). A $100,000 salary in Altoona buys about the same as $100,158 in Kokomo; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.5 (Altoona) vs 89.6 (Kokomo)
- $100k in Altoona ≈ $100,158 purchasing power in Kokomo
- Services drives the gap (-21.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:IN 89.5→89.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × IN
- 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.
Altoona
89.5
Cost Index
Kokomo
89.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Altoona, PA and Kokomo, IN 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: Kokomo is 21.4 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.
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 Altoona to $100,158 in Kokomo, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -6.4 RPP
Services
Diff -21.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +4.3 RPP
| Category | Altoona | Kokomo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.5 | 89.6 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 94.3 | -6.4 |
| Services | 107.7 | 86.3 | -21.4 |
| Rents | 55.0 | 59.3 | +4.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Altoona 89.5
Kokomo 89.6
Goods
Altoona 100.7
Kokomo 94.3
Services
Altoona 107.7
Kokomo 86.3
Rents
Altoona 55.0
Kokomo 59.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Altoona would need to be in Kokomo for the same purchasing power:
| In Altoona | In Kokomo | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,079 | +$79 |
| $75,000 | $75,118 | +$118 |
| $100,000 | $100,158 | +$158 |
| $150,000 | $150,236 | +$236 |
$ in Altoona = in Kokomo
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.5 → 89.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kokomo more expensive than Altoona?
Kokomo is 0.2% more expensive than Altoona. The overall cost index is 89.6 vs 89.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Kokomo equals $100K in Altoona?
A $100,000 salary in Altoona has the same purchasing power as $100,158 in Kokomo. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Altoona and Kokomo?
Rents in Altoona are indexed at 55.0 while Kokomo is at 59.3 (national average = 100). Kokomo 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.