Overall
Diff +2.2 RPP
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson vs Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom is 2.1% more expensive than Baltimore-Columbia-Towson.
2.1% more expensive
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA is 2.1% more expensive than Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 106.7 vs 104.5). A $100,000 salary in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson buys about the same as $102,089 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 104.5 (Baltimore-Columbia-Towson) vs 106.7 (Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom)
- $100k in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson ≈ $102,089 purchasing power in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
- Services drives the gap (+41.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MD:CA 104.5→106.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MD × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA is 2.1% more expensive than Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.2-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 41.1 points higher than Baltimore-Columbia-Towson. 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 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson to $102,089 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.8 RPP
Services
Diff +41.1 RPP
Rents
Diff +12.0 RPP
| Category | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 104.5 | 106.7 | +2.2 |
| Goods | 102.4 | 105.2 | +2.8 |
| Services | 110.2 | 151.3 | +41.1 |
| Rents | 118.2 | 130.2 | +12.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 104.5
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 106.7
Goods
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 102.4
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 105.2
Services
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 110.2
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 151.3
Rents
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 118.2
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 130.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson would need to be in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom for the same purchasing power:
| In Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | In Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,045 | +$1,045 |
| $75,000 | $76,567 | +$1,567 |
| $100,000 | $102,089 | +$2,089 |
| $150,000 | $153,134 | +$3,134 |
$ in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson = in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (104.5 → 106.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
104.5
Cost Index
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
106.7
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom more expensive than Baltimore-Columbia-Towson?
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom is 2.1% more expensive than Baltimore-Columbia-Towson. The overall cost index is 106.7 vs 104.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom equals $100K in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson?
A $100,000 salary in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson has the same purchasing power as $102,089 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Baltimore-Columbia-Towson and Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom?
Rents in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson are indexed at 118.2 while Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom is at 130.2 (national average = 100). Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 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.