Overall
Diff -0.0 RPP
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos vs Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 0% less expensive than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.
0% less expensive
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC is 0% less expensive than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.0 vs 98.1). A $100,000 salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos buys about the same as $99,950 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.1 (Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos) vs 98.0 (Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal)
- $100k in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ≈ $99,950 purchasing power in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
- Rents drives the gap (-19.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:SC 98.1→98.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × SC
- 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.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
98.1
Cost Index
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
98.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 19.1 points lower. But services 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos corresponds to $99,950 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.6 RPP
Services
Diff +6.0 RPP
Rents
Diff -19.1 RPP
| Category | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.1 | 98.0 | -0.0 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.3 | +2.6 |
| Services | 82.0 | 88.1 | +6.0 |
| Rents | 120.4 | 101.2 | -19.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 98.1
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 98.0
Goods
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 93.8
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 96.3
Services
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 82.0
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 88.1
Rents
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 120.4
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 101.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos would need to be in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal for the same purchasing power:
| In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | In Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,975 | $-25 |
| $75,000 | $74,963 | $-37 |
| $100,000 | $99,950 | $-50 |
| $150,000 | $149,925 | $-75 |
$ in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos = in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.1 → 98.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal more expensive than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 0% less expensive than Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos. The overall cost index is 98.0 vs 98.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal equals $100K in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
A $100,000 salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos has the same purchasing power as $99,950 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal?
Rents in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos are indexed at 120.4 while Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is at 101.2 (national average = 100). Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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.