Overall
- Amherst Town-Northampton
- 100.2
- Flagstaff
- 100.3
Diff +0.1 RPP
Amherst Town-Northampton vs Flagstaff
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Flagstaff is 0.1% more expensive than Amherst Town-Northampton.
0.1% more expensive
Flagstaff, AZ is 0.1% more expensive than Amherst Town-Northampton, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.3 vs 100.2). A $100,000 salary in Amherst Town-Northampton buys about the same as $100,082 in Flagstaff; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.2 (Amherst Town-Northampton) vs 100.3 (Flagstaff)
- $100k in Amherst Town-Northampton ≈ $100,082 purchasing power in Flagstaff
- Services drives the gap (-61.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:AZ 100.2→100.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MA × AZ
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Amherst Town-Northampton
100.2
Cost Index
Flagstaff
100.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA and Flagstaff, AZ 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: Flagstaff is 61.9 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Amherst Town-Northampton to $100,082 in Flagstaff, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Flagstaff
- 96.2
Diff -0.8 RPP
Services
- Amherst Town-Northampton
- 155.7
- Flagstaff
- 93.8
Diff -61.9 RPP
Rents
- Flagstaff
- 109.0
Diff +11.4 RPP
| Category | Amherst Town-Northampton | Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.2 | 100.3 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 96.2 | -0.8 |
| Services | 155.7 | 93.8 | -61.9 |
| Rents | 97.5 | 109.0 | +11.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Amherst Town-Northampton 100.2
Flagstaff 100.3
Goods
Amherst Town-Northampton 97.0
Flagstaff 96.2
Services
Amherst Town-Northampton 155.7
Flagstaff 93.8
Rents
Amherst Town-Northampton 97.5
Flagstaff 109.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Amherst Town-Northampton would need to be in Flagstaff for the same purchasing power:
| In Amherst Town-Northampton | In Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,041 | +$41 |
| $75,000 | $75,061 | +$61 |
| $100,000 | $100,082 | +$82 |
| $150,000 | $150,123 | +$123 |
$ in Amherst Town-Northampton = in Flagstaff
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.2 → 100.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flagstaff more expensive than Amherst Town-Northampton?
Flagstaff is 0.1% more expensive than Amherst Town-Northampton. The overall cost index is 100.3 vs 100.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Flagstaff equals $100K in Amherst Town-Northampton?
A $100,000 salary in Amherst Town-Northampton has the same purchasing power as $100,082 in Flagstaff. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Amherst Town-Northampton and Flagstaff?
Rents in Amherst Town-Northampton are indexed at 97.5 while Flagstaff is at 109.0 (national average = 100). Flagstaff 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.