Overall
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
- Fresno
- 102.2
Diff +3.8 RPP
Barnstable Town vs Fresno
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fresno is 3.9% more expensive than Barnstable Town.
3.9% more expensive
Fresno, CA is 3.9% more expensive than Barnstable Town, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.2 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town buys about the same as $103,871 in Fresno; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Barnstable Town) vs 102.2 (Fresno)
- $100k in Barnstable Town ≈ $103,871 purchasing power in Fresno
- Goods drives the gap (+8.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:CA 98.4→102.2
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · GOODS-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MA × CA
- GOODS-LED Goods-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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
Fresno, CA is 3.9% more expensive than Barnstable Town, MA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.8-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Fresno is above 100 while Barnstable Town is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Goods leads the difference, with Fresno 8.2 points higher 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $103,871 in Fresno as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Barnstable Town, then replace the national basket with your own.
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Fresno
102.2
Cost Index
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
- Fresno
- 105.2
Diff +8.2 RPP
Services
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
- Fresno
- 161.0
Diff +2.6 RPP
Rents
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
- Fresno
- 95.7
Diff +5.7 RPP
| Category | Barnstable Town | Fresno | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 102.2 | +3.8 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 105.2 | +8.2 |
| Services | 158.4 | 161.0 | +2.6 |
| Rents | 90.0 | 95.7 | +5.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Barnstable Town 98.4
Fresno 102.2
Goods
Barnstable Town 97.0
Fresno 105.2
Services
Barnstable Town 158.4
Fresno 161.0
Rents
Barnstable Town 90.0
Fresno 95.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Barnstable Town would need to be in Fresno for the same purchasing power:
| In Barnstable Town | In Fresno | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,935 | +$1,935 |
| $75,000 | $77,903 | +$2,903 |
| $100,000 | $103,871 | +$3,871 |
| $150,000 | $155,806 | +$5,806 |
$ in Barnstable Town = in Fresno
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 102.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fresno more expensive than Barnstable Town?
Fresno is 3.9% more expensive than Barnstable Town. The overall cost index is 102.2 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fresno equals $100K in Barnstable Town?
A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town has the same purchasing power as $103,871 in Fresno. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Barnstable Town and Fresno?
Rents in Barnstable Town are indexed at 90.0 while Fresno is at 95.7 (national average = 100). Fresno 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.