Overall
Diff -0.1 RPP
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell vs Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is 0.1% less expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell.
0.1% less expensive
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ is 0.1% less expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.0 vs 100.1). A $100,000 salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell buys about the same as $99,910 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.1 (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell) vs 100.0 (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton)
- $100k in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell ≈ $99,910 purchasing power in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
- Services drives the gap (+11.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:PA 100.1→100.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE GA × PA
- 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.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
100.1
Cost Index
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
100.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 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: Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is 11.4 points higher. 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell to $99,910 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, 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 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.1 | 100.0 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 100.4 | 100.6 | +0.2 |
| Services | 96.2 | 107.6 | +11.4 |
| Rents | 111.0 | 105.5 | -5.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 100.1
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.0
Goods
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 100.4
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.6
Services
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 96.2
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 107.6
Rents
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 111.0
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 105.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell would need to be in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton for the same purchasing power:
| In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | In Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,955 | $-45 |
| $75,000 | $74,933 | $-67 |
| $100,000 | $99,910 | $-90 |
| $150,000 | $149,865 | $-135 |
$ in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell = in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.1 → 100.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton more expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell?
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is 0.1% less expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell. The overall cost index is 100.0 vs 100.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton equals $100K in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell?
A $100,000 salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell has the same purchasing power as $99,910 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton?
Rents in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell are indexed at 111.0 while Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is at 105.5 (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.