Overall
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 90.0
- Bowling Green
- 90.2
Diff +0.1 RPP
Beaumont-Port Arthur vs Bowling Green
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Bowling Green is 0.1% more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur.
0.1% more expensive
Bowling Green, KY is 0.1% more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.2 vs 90.0). A $100,000 salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur buys about the same as $100,148 in Bowling Green; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 90.0 (Beaumont-Port Arthur) vs 90.2 (Bowling Green)
- $100k in Beaumont-Port Arthur ≈ $100,148 purchasing power in Bowling Green
- Services drives the gap (-7.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:KY 90.0→90.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × KY
- 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.
Beaumont-Port Arthur
90.0
Cost Index
Bowling Green
90.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX and Bowling Green, KY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Bowling Green is 7.9 points lower. But services and 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Beaumont-Port Arthur to $100,148 in Bowling Green, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 93.8
- Bowling Green
- 96.2
Diff +2.5 RPP
Services
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 83.1
- Bowling Green
- 75.2
Diff -7.9 RPP
Rents
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 70.9
- Bowling Green
- 63.4
Diff -7.5 RPP
| Category | Beaumont-Port Arthur | Bowling Green | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.0 | 90.2 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.2 | +2.5 |
| Services | 83.1 | 75.2 | -7.9 |
| Rents | 70.9 | 63.4 | -7.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Beaumont-Port Arthur 90.0
Bowling Green 90.2
Goods
Beaumont-Port Arthur 93.8
Bowling Green 96.2
Services
Beaumont-Port Arthur 83.1
Bowling Green 75.2
Rents
Beaumont-Port Arthur 70.9
Bowling Green 63.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur would need to be in Bowling Green for the same purchasing power:
| In Beaumont-Port Arthur | In Bowling Green | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,074 | +$74 |
| $75,000 | $75,111 | +$111 |
| $100,000 | $100,148 | +$148 |
| $150,000 | $150,222 | +$222 |
$ in Beaumont-Port Arthur = in Bowling Green
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.0 → 90.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bowling Green more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur?
Bowling Green is 0.1% more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur. The overall cost index is 90.2 vs 90.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Bowling Green equals $100K in Beaumont-Port Arthur?
A $100,000 salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur has the same purchasing power as $100,148 in Bowling Green. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Beaumont-Port Arthur and Bowling Green?
Rents in Beaumont-Port Arthur are indexed at 70.9 while Bowling Green is at 63.4 (national average = 100). Beaumont-Port Arthur 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.