Overall
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
- Worcester
- 102.5
Diff +4.2 RPP
Barnstable Town vs Worcester
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Worcester is 4.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town.
4.2% more expensive
Worcester, MA is 4.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.5 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town buys about the same as $104,242 in Worcester; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Barnstable Town) vs 102.5 (Worcester)
- $100k in Barnstable Town ≈ $104,242 purchasing power in Worcester
- Rents drives the gap (+23.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:MA 98.4→102.5
TIER-NEAR · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- SAME-STATE Same state · MA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
- Worcester
- 97.0
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
- Worcester
- 155.2
Diff -3.2 RPP
Rents
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
- Worcester
- 113.0
Diff +23.0 RPP
| Category | Barnstable Town | Worcester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 102.5 | +4.2 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 97.0 | 0.0 |
| Services | 158.4 | 155.2 | -3.2 |
| Rents | 90.0 | 113.0 | +23.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Barnstable Town 98.4
Worcester 102.5
Goods
Barnstable Town 97.0
Worcester 97.0
Services
Barnstable Town 158.4
Worcester 155.2
Rents
Barnstable Town 90.0
Worcester 113.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Worcester is 23.0 points higher. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Worcester, MA is 4.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town, MA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.2-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Worcester is above 100 while Barnstable Town is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Barnstable Town corresponds to $104,242 in Worcester.
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Worcester
102.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Barnstable Town would need to be in Worcester for the same purchasing power:
| In Barnstable Town | In Worcester | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,121 | +$2,121 |
| $75,000 | $78,181 | +$3,181 |
| $100,000 | $104,242 | +$4,242 |
| $150,000 | $156,363 | +$6,363 |
$ in Barnstable Town = in Worcester
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 102.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Worcester more expensive than Barnstable Town?
Worcester is 4.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town. The overall cost index is 102.5 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Worcester equals $100K in Barnstable Town?
A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town has the same purchasing power as $104,242 in Worcester. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Barnstable Town and Worcester?
Rents in Barnstable Town are indexed at 90.0 while Worcester is at 113.0 (national average = 100). Worcester 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.