Overall
- Auburn-Opelika
- 87.9
- Terre Haute
- 87.8
Diff -0.1 RPP
Auburn-Opelika vs Terre Haute
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Terre Haute is 0.2% less expensive than Auburn-Opelika.
0.2% less expensive
Terre Haute, IN is 0.2% less expensive than Auburn-Opelika, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.8 vs 87.9). A $100,000 salary in Auburn-Opelika buys about the same as $99,845 in Terre Haute; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.9 (Auburn-Opelika) vs 87.8 (Terre Haute)
- $100k in Auburn-Opelika ≈ $99,845 purchasing power in Terre Haute
- Rents drives the gap (-10.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:IN 87.9→87.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × IN
- 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
Terre Haute
87.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Auburn-Opelika, AL and Terre Haute, IN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Terre Haute is 10.2 points lower. 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 Auburn-Opelika corresponds to $99,845 in Terre Haute.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Auburn-Opelika
- 96.4
- Terre Haute
- 94.3
Diff -2.1 RPP
Services
- Auburn-Opelika
- 83.9
- Terre Haute
- 86.6
Diff +2.7 RPP
Rents
- Auburn-Opelika
- 62.1
- Terre Haute
- 51.9
Diff -10.2 RPP
| Category | Auburn-Opelika | Terre Haute | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.9 | 87.8 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 94.3 | -2.1 |
| Services | 83.9 | 86.6 | +2.7 |
| Rents | 62.1 | 51.9 | -10.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Auburn-Opelika 87.9
Terre Haute 87.8
Goods
Auburn-Opelika 96.4
Terre Haute 94.3
Services
Auburn-Opelika 83.9
Terre Haute 86.6
Rents
Auburn-Opelika 62.1
Terre Haute 51.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Auburn-Opelika and Terre Haute share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.2 to 0.1 RPP points. Auburn-Opelika remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 3.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (1.7 to 2.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Auburn-Opelika RPP | Terre Haute RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.3 | 89.1 | 0.2 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2012 | 90.4 | 89.2 | 1.2 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2016 | 89.7 | 87.6 | 2.1 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2020 | 88.7 | 87.4 | 1.3 points Auburn-Opelika higher |
| 2024 | 87.9 | 87.8 | 0.1 points Auburn-Opelika 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 Terre Haute for the same purchasing power:
| In Auburn-Opelika | In Terre Haute | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,923 | $-77 |
| $75,000 | $74,884 | $-116 |
| $100,000 | $99,845 | $-155 |
| $150,000 | $149,768 | $-232 |
$ in Auburn-Opelika = in Terre Haute
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.9 → 87.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Terre Haute more expensive than Auburn-Opelika?
Terre Haute is 0.2% less expensive than Auburn-Opelika. The overall cost index is 87.8 vs 87.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Terre Haute equals $100K in Auburn-Opelika?
A $100,000 salary in Auburn-Opelika has the same purchasing power as $99,845 in Terre Haute. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Auburn-Opelika and Terre Haute?
Rents in Auburn-Opelika are indexed at 62.1 while Terre Haute is at 51.9 (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.