Overall
- Waco
- 92.5
Diff -6.3 RPP
Atlantic City-Hammonton vs Waco
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Waco is 6.4% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton.
6.4% less expensive
Waco, TX is 6.4% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.5 vs 98.9). A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton buys about the same as $93,620 in Waco; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.9 (Atlantic City-Hammonton) vs 92.5 (Waco)
- $100k in Atlantic City-Hammonton ≈ $93,620 purchasing power in Waco
- Services drives the gap (-28.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NJ:TX 98.9→92.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE NJ × TX
- 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.
Waco, TX is 6.4% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.3-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Waco 28.2 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Atlantic City-Hammonton to $93,620 in Waco, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waco
- 93.8
Diff -6.0 RPP
Services
- Atlantic City-Hammonton
- 109.2
- Waco
- 81.0
Diff -28.2 RPP
Rents
- Waco
- 83.5
Diff -15.1 RPP
| Category | Atlantic City-Hammonton | Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.9 | 92.5 | -6.3 |
| Goods | 99.8 | 93.8 | -6.0 |
| Services | 109.2 | 81.0 | -28.2 |
| Rents | 98.7 | 83.5 | -15.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.9
Waco 92.5
Goods
Atlantic City-Hammonton 99.8
Waco 93.8
Services
Atlantic City-Hammonton 109.2
Waco 81.0
Rents
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.7
Waco 83.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton would need to be in Waco for the same purchasing power:
| In Atlantic City-Hammonton | In Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,810 | $-3,190 |
| $75,000 | $70,215 | $-4,785 |
| $100,000 | $93,620 | $-6,380 |
| $150,000 | $140,430 | $-9,570 |
$ in Atlantic City-Hammonton = in Waco
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.9 → 92.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Atlantic City-Hammonton
98.9
Cost Index
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Waco more expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton?
Waco is 6.4% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton. The overall cost index is 92.5 vs 98.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Waco equals $100K in Atlantic City-Hammonton?
A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton has the same purchasing power as $93,620 in Waco. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Atlantic City-Hammonton and Waco?
Rents in Atlantic City-Hammonton are indexed at 98.7 while Waco is at 83.5 (national average = 100). Atlantic City-Hammonton 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.