Overall
Diff -7.0 RPP
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Augusta-Richmond County is 7% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton.
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC is 7% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.9 vs 98.9). A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton buys about the same as $92,966 in Augusta-Richmond County; the largest component gap is rents.
RPP parity plate
Pair NJ:GA 98.9→91.9
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · 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 a salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton would need to be in Augusta-Richmond County for the same purchasing power:
| In Atlantic City-Hammonton | In Augusta-Richmond County | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,483 | $-3,517 |
| $75,000 | $69,724 | $-5,276 |
| $100,000 | $92,966 | $-7,034 |
| $150,000 | $139,448 | $-10,552 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.9 → 91.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
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.
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC is 7% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.0-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Augusta-Richmond County 28.1 points lower than Atlantic City-Hammonton. 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 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 $92,966 in Augusta-Richmond County.
Diff -7.0 RPP
Diff -3.5 RPP
Diff -19.7 RPP
Diff -28.1 RPP
| Category | Atlantic City-Hammonton | Augusta-Richmond County | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.9 | 91.9 | -7.0 |
| Goods | 99.8 | 96.3 | -3.5 |
| Services | 109.2 | 89.5 | -19.7 |
| Rents | 98.7 | 70.6 | -28.1 |
Vertical line = national average (100)
Atlantic City-Hammonton and Augusta-Richmond County share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 19.7 to 7.0 RPP points. Atlantic City-Hammonton remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 37.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (66.0 to 28.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Atlantic City-Hammonton RPP | Augusta-Richmond County RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 110.7 | 91.1 | 19.7 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2012 | 104.6 | 93.5 | 11.1 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2016 | 102.6 | 93.6 | 9.0 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2020 | 101.2 | 89.7 | 11.5 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2024 | 98.9 | 91.9 | 7.0 points Atlantic City-Hammonton 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.
Augusta-Richmond County is 7% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton. The overall cost index is 91.9 vs 98.9 (national average = 100).
A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton has the same purchasing power as $92,966 in Augusta-Richmond County. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
Rents in Atlantic City-Hammonton are indexed at 98.7 while Augusta-Richmond County is at 70.6 (national average = 100). Atlantic City-Hammonton has higher rents.
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.