Overall
Diff +1.1 RPP
Atlantic City-Hammonton vs Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is 1.1% more expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton.
1.1% more expensive
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ is 1.1% more expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.0 vs 98.9). A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton buys about the same as $101,124 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.9 (Atlantic City-Hammonton) vs 100.0 (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton)
- $100k in Atlantic City-Hammonton ≈ $101,124 purchasing power in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
- Rents drives the gap (+6.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NJ:PA 98.9→100.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NJ × PA
- 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.
Atlantic City-Hammonton
98.9
Cost Index
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
100.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is 6.8 points higher. But services 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 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 Atlantic City-Hammonton corresponds to $101,124 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton.
Category Breakdown
| Category | Atlantic City-Hammonton | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.9 | 100.0 | +1.1 |
| Goods | 99.8 | 100.6 | +0.8 |
| Services | 109.2 | 107.6 | -1.6 |
| Rents | 98.7 | 105.5 | +6.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.9
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.0
Goods
Atlantic City-Hammonton 99.8
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 100.6
Services
Atlantic City-Hammonton 109.2
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 107.6
Rents
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.7
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 105.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton would need to be in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton for the same purchasing power:
| In Atlantic City-Hammonton | In Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,562 | +$562 |
| $75,000 | $75,843 | +$843 |
| $100,000 | $101,124 | +$1,124 |
| $150,000 | $151,686 | +$1,686 |
$ in Atlantic City-Hammonton = in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.9 → 100.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton more expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton?
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is 1.1% more expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton. The overall cost index is 100.0 vs 98.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton equals $100K in Atlantic City-Hammonton?
A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton has the same purchasing power as $101,124 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Atlantic City-Hammonton and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton?
Rents in Atlantic City-Hammonton are indexed at 98.7 while Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton is at 105.5 (national average = 100). Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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.