Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff -1.8 RPP
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell vs Lancaster
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lancaster is 1.8% less expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell.
1.8% less expensive
Lancaster, PA is 1.8% less expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 100.1). A $100,000 salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell buys about the same as $98,200 in Lancaster; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.1 (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell) vs 98.3 (Lancaster)
- $100k in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell ≈ $98,200 purchasing power in Lancaster
- Rents drives the gap (-17.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:PA 100.1→98.3
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
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA and Lancaster, PA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.8 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Lancaster is 17.2 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.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell is above 100 while Lancaster is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell corresponds to $98,200 in Lancaster.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff +0.3 RPP
Services
- Lancaster
- 107.3
Diff +11.0 RPP
Rents
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff -17.2 RPP
| Category | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.1 | 98.3 | -1.8 |
| Goods | 100.4 | 100.7 | +0.3 |
| Services | 96.2 | 107.3 | +11.0 |
| Rents | 111.0 | 93.8 | -17.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 100.1
Lancaster 98.3
Goods
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 100.4
Lancaster 100.7
Services
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 96.2
Lancaster 107.3
Rents
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 111.0
Lancaster 93.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell and Lancaster share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.1 to 1.8 RPP points. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (8.0 to 17.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell RPP | Lancaster RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.1 | 100.2 | 2.1 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 99.2 | 97.8 | 1.4 points Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell higher |
| 2016 | 98.4 | 99.4 | 0.9 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 98.7 | 97.9 | 0.9 points Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell higher |
| 2024 | 100.1 | 98.3 | 1.8 points Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell would need to be in Lancaster for the same purchasing power:
| In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | In Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,100 | $-900 |
| $75,000 | $73,650 | $-1,350 |
| $100,000 | $98,200 | $-1,800 |
| $150,000 | $147,300 | $-2,700 |
$ in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell = in Lancaster
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.1 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lancaster more expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell?
Lancaster is 1.8% less expensive than Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 100.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lancaster equals $100K in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell?
A $100,000 salary in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell has the same purchasing power as $98,200 in Lancaster. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell and Lancaster?
Rents in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell are indexed at 111.0 while Lancaster is at 93.8 (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.