Overall
- Anniston-Oxford
- 85.9
- Paducah
- 86.1
Diff +0.1 RPP
Anniston-Oxford vs Paducah
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Paducah is 0.2% more expensive than Anniston-Oxford.
0.2% more expensive
Paducah, KY-IL is 0.2% more expensive than Anniston-Oxford, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.1 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in Anniston-Oxford buys about the same as $100,157 in Paducah; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (Anniston-Oxford) vs 86.1 (Paducah)
- $100k in Anniston-Oxford ≈ $100,157 purchasing power in Paducah
- Services drives the gap (-10.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:KY 85.9→86.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × KY
- 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.
Anniston-Oxford
85.9
Cost Index
Paducah
86.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Anniston-Oxford, AL and Paducah, KY-IL 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: Paducah is 10.3 points lower. But services and rents 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 Anniston-Oxford to $100,157 in Paducah, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Anniston-Oxford
- 96.4
- Paducah
- 96.0
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Anniston-Oxford
- 87.1
- Paducah
- 76.9
Diff -10.3 RPP
Rents
- Anniston-Oxford
- 54.7
- Paducah
- 48.8
Diff -5.9 RPP
| Category | Anniston-Oxford | Paducah | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 86.1 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.0 | -0.4 |
| Services | 87.1 | 76.9 | -10.3 |
| Rents | 54.7 | 48.8 | -5.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Anniston-Oxford 85.9
Paducah 86.1
Goods
Anniston-Oxford 96.4
Paducah 96.0
Services
Anniston-Oxford 87.1
Paducah 76.9
Rents
Anniston-Oxford 54.7
Paducah 48.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Anniston-Oxford would need to be in Paducah for the same purchasing power:
| In Anniston-Oxford | In Paducah | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,079 | +$79 |
| $75,000 | $75,118 | +$118 |
| $100,000 | $100,157 | +$157 |
| $150,000 | $150,236 | +$236 |
$ in Anniston-Oxford = in Paducah
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 86.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Paducah more expensive than Anniston-Oxford?
Paducah is 0.2% more expensive than Anniston-Oxford. The overall cost index is 86.1 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Paducah equals $100K in Anniston-Oxford?
A $100,000 salary in Anniston-Oxford has the same purchasing power as $100,157 in Paducah. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Anniston-Oxford and Paducah?
Rents in Anniston-Oxford are indexed at 54.7 while Paducah is at 48.8 (national average = 100). Anniston-Oxford 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.