Overall
- Baton Rouge
- 90.8
- Clarksville
- 90.9
Diff +0.2 RPP
Baton Rouge vs Clarksville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Clarksville is 0.2% more expensive than Baton Rouge.
0.2% more expensive
Clarksville, TN-KY is 0.2% more expensive than Baton Rouge, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.9 vs 90.8). A $100,000 salary in Baton Rouge buys about the same as $100,184 in Clarksville; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 90.8 (Baton Rouge) vs 90.9 (Clarksville)
- $100k in Baton Rouge ≈ $100,184 purchasing power in Clarksville
- Goods drives the gap (+2.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:TN 90.8→90.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE LA × TN
- 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.
Baton Rouge
90.8
Cost Index
Clarksville
90.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Baton Rouge, LA and Clarksville, TN-KY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Clarksville is 2.6 points higher. But rents 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $100,184 in Clarksville as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Baton Rouge, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Baton Rouge
- 93.7
- Clarksville
- 96.2
Diff +2.6 RPP
Services
- Baton Rouge
- 71.2
- Clarksville
- 72.5
Diff +1.4 RPP
Rents
- Baton Rouge
- 74.2
- Clarksville
- 73.8
Diff -0.4 RPP
| Category | Baton Rouge | Clarksville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.8 | 90.9 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 96.2 | +2.6 |
| Services | 71.2 | 72.5 | +1.4 |
| Rents | 74.2 | 73.8 | -0.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Baton Rouge 90.8
Clarksville 90.9
Goods
Baton Rouge 93.7
Clarksville 96.2
Services
Baton Rouge 71.2
Clarksville 72.5
Rents
Baton Rouge 74.2
Clarksville 73.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Baton Rouge and Clarksville share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.6 to 0.2 RPP points. Clarksville remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 10.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (8.8 to 1.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Baton Rouge RPP | Clarksville RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.1 | 90.5 | 2.6 points Baton Rouge higher |
| 2012 | 94.2 | 93.0 | 1.2 points Baton Rouge higher |
| 2016 | 95.6 | 93.6 | 2.0 points Baton Rouge higher |
| 2020 | 93.1 | 88.8 | 4.4 points Baton Rouge higher |
| 2024 | 90.8 | 90.9 | 0.2 points Clarksville higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Baton Rouge would need to be in Clarksville for the same purchasing power:
| In Baton Rouge | In Clarksville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,092 | +$92 |
| $75,000 | $75,138 | +$138 |
| $100,000 | $100,184 | +$184 |
| $150,000 | $150,276 | +$276 |
$ in Baton Rouge = in Clarksville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.8 → 90.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Clarksville more expensive than Baton Rouge?
Clarksville is 0.2% more expensive than Baton Rouge. The overall cost index is 90.9 vs 90.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Clarksville equals $100K in Baton Rouge?
A $100,000 salary in Baton Rouge has the same purchasing power as $100,184 in Clarksville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Baton Rouge and Clarksville?
Rents in Baton Rouge are indexed at 74.2 while Clarksville is at 73.8 (national average = 100). Baton Rouge 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.