Overall
- Athens-Clarke County
- 93.3
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
Diff +5.0 RPP
Athens-Clarke County vs Barnstable Town
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Barnstable Town is 5.4% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County.
5.4% more expensive
Barnstable Town, MA is 5.4% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 93.3). A $100,000 salary in Athens-Clarke County buys about the same as $105,365 in Barnstable Town; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 93.3 (Athens-Clarke County) vs 98.4 (Barnstable Town)
- $100k in Athens-Clarke County ≈ $105,365 purchasing power in Barnstable Town
- Services drives the gap (+69.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:MA 93.3→98.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE GA × MA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Barnstable Town, MA is 5.4% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County, GA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.0-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Barnstable Town 69.2 points higher than Athens-Clarke County. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Athens-Clarke County to $105,365 in Barnstable Town, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Athens-Clarke County and Barnstable Town share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 8.6 to 5.0 RPP points. Barnstable Town remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 19.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (49.3 to 69.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Athens-Clarke County RPP | Barnstable Town RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.2 | 102.8 | 8.6 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 100.9 | 7.6 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2016 | 93.7 | 105.8 | 12.0 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2020 | 90.2 | 101.3 | 11.0 points Barnstable Town higher |
| 2024 | 93.3 | 98.4 | 5.0 points Barnstable Town higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Athens-Clarke County
- 96.3
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
Diff +0.7 RPP
Services
- Athens-Clarke County
- 89.3
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
Diff +69.2 RPP
Rents
- Athens-Clarke County
- 76.8
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
Diff +13.3 RPP
| Category | Athens-Clarke County | Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.3 | 98.4 | +5.0 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 97.0 | +0.7 |
| Services | 89.3 | 158.4 | +69.2 |
| Rents | 76.8 | 90.0 | +13.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Athens-Clarke County 93.3
Barnstable Town 98.4
Goods
Athens-Clarke County 96.3
Barnstable Town 97.0
Services
Athens-Clarke County 89.3
Barnstable Town 158.4
Rents
Athens-Clarke County 76.8
Barnstable Town 90.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Athens-Clarke County would need to be in Barnstable Town for the same purchasing power:
| In Athens-Clarke County | In Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,683 | +$2,683 |
| $75,000 | $79,024 | +$4,024 |
| $100,000 | $105,365 | +$5,365 |
| $150,000 | $158,048 | +$8,048 |
$ in Athens-Clarke County = in Barnstable Town
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.3 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Athens-Clarke County
93.3
Cost Index
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barnstable Town more expensive than Athens-Clarke County?
Barnstable Town is 5.4% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 93.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Barnstable Town equals $100K in Athens-Clarke County?
A $100,000 salary in Athens-Clarke County has the same purchasing power as $105,365 in Barnstable Town. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Athens-Clarke County and Barnstable Town?
Rents in Athens-Clarke County are indexed at 76.8 while Barnstable Town is at 90.0 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town 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.