Overall
- Auburn-Opelika
- 87.9
- Beckley
- 88.4
Diff +0.4 RPP
Auburn-Opelika vs Beckley
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Beckley is 0.5% more expensive than Auburn-Opelika.
0.5% more expensive
Beckley, WV is 0.5% more expensive than Auburn-Opelika, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.4 vs 87.9). A $100,000 salary in Auburn-Opelika buys about the same as $100,496 in Beckley; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.9 (Auburn-Opelika) vs 88.4 (Beckley)
- $100k in Auburn-Opelika ≈ $100,496 purchasing power in Beckley
- Rents drives the gap (-9.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:WV 87.9→88.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × WV
- 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.
Auburn-Opelika
87.9
Cost Index
Beckley
88.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Auburn-Opelika, AL and Beckley, WV are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Beckley is 9.8 points lower. But rents 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.
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 Auburn-Opelika corresponds to $100,496 in Beckley.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Auburn-Opelika
- 96.4
- Beckley
- 96.3
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Auburn-Opelika
- 83.9
- Beckley
- 91.8
Diff +7.9 RPP
Rents
- Auburn-Opelika
- 62.1
- Beckley
- 52.2
Diff -9.8 RPP
| Category | Auburn-Opelika | Beckley | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.9 | 88.4 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.3 | -0.1 |
| Services | 83.9 | 91.8 | +7.9 |
| Rents | 62.1 | 52.2 | -9.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Auburn-Opelika 87.9
Beckley 88.4
Goods
Auburn-Opelika 96.4
Beckley 96.3
Services
Auburn-Opelika 83.9
Beckley 91.8
Rents
Auburn-Opelika 62.1
Beckley 52.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Auburn-Opelika and Beckley share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.8 to 0.4 RPP points. Beckley remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 25.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (17.6 to 7.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Auburn-Opelika RPP | Beckley RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.3 | 83.5 | 5.8 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2012 | 90.4 | 83.6 | 6.7 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2016 | 89.7 | 83.3 | 6.5 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2020 | 88.7 | 83.4 | 5.2 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2024 | 87.9 | 88.4 | 0.4 points Beckley 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 Auburn-Opelika would need to be in Beckley for the same purchasing power:
| In Auburn-Opelika | In Beckley | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,248 | +$248 |
| $75,000 | $75,372 | +$372 |
| $100,000 | $100,496 | +$496 |
| $150,000 | $150,744 | +$744 |
$ in Auburn-Opelika = in Beckley
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.9 → 88.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Beckley more expensive than Auburn-Opelika?
Beckley is 0.5% more expensive than Auburn-Opelika. The overall cost index is 88.4 vs 87.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Beckley equals $100K in Auburn-Opelika?
A $100,000 salary in Auburn-Opelika has the same purchasing power as $100,496 in Beckley. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Auburn-Opelika and Beckley?
Rents in Auburn-Opelika are indexed at 62.1 while Beckley is at 52.2 (national average = 100). Auburn-Opelika 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.