Overall
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
- Decatur
- 87.2
Diff -11.1 RPP
Barnstable Town vs Decatur
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Decatur is 11.3% less expensive than Barnstable Town.
11.3% less expensive
Decatur, AL is 11.3% less expensive than Barnstable Town, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.2 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town buys about the same as $88,674 in Decatur; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Barnstable Town) vs 87.2 (Decatur)
- $100k in Barnstable Town ≈ $88,674 purchasing power in Decatur
- Services drives the gap (-73.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:AL 98.4→87.2
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE MA × AL
- 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.
Barnstable Town, MA and Decatur, AL sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.1 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with Decatur 73.7 points lower than Barnstable Town. 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 Barnstable Town to $88,674 in Decatur, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
- Decatur
- 96.4
Diff -0.6 RPP
Services
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
- Decatur
- 84.7
Diff -73.7 RPP
Rents
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
- Decatur
- 58.1
Diff -31.9 RPP
| Category | Barnstable Town | Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 87.2 | -11.1 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 96.4 | -0.6 |
| Services | 158.4 | 84.7 | -73.7 |
| Rents | 90.0 | 58.1 | -31.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Barnstable Town 98.4
Decatur 87.2
Goods
Barnstable Town 97.0
Decatur 96.4
Services
Barnstable Town 158.4
Decatur 84.7
Rents
Barnstable Town 90.0
Decatur 58.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Barnstable Town would need to be in Decatur for the same purchasing power:
| In Barnstable Town | In Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,337 | $-5,663 |
| $75,000 | $66,506 | $-8,494 |
| $100,000 | $88,674 | $-11,326 |
| $150,000 | $133,011 | $-16,989 |
$ in Barnstable Town = in Decatur
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 87.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Decatur
87.2
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Decatur more expensive than Barnstable Town?
Decatur is 11.3% less expensive than Barnstable Town. The overall cost index is 87.2 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Decatur equals $100K in Barnstable Town?
A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town has the same purchasing power as $88,674 in Decatur. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Barnstable Town and Decatur?
Rents in Barnstable Town are indexed at 90.0 while Decatur is at 58.1 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town 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.