Overall
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 90.0
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 98.7
Diff +8.6 RPP
Beaumont-Port Arthur vs Harrisburg-Carlisle
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Harrisburg-Carlisle is 9.6% more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur.
9.6% more expensive
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA is 9.6% more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.7 vs 90.0). A $100,000 salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur buys about the same as $109,555 in Harrisburg-Carlisle; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.0 (Beaumont-Port Arthur) vs 98.7 (Harrisburg-Carlisle)
- $100k in Beaumont-Port Arthur ≈ $109,555 purchasing power in Harrisburg-Carlisle
- Rents drives the gap (+25.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:PA 90.0→98.7
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE TX × PA
- RENT-LED Rent-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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur would need to be in Harrisburg-Carlisle for the same purchasing power:
| In Beaumont-Port Arthur | In Harrisburg-Carlisle | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $54,778 | +$4,778 |
| $75,000 | $82,166 | +$7,166 |
| $100,000 | $109,555 | +$9,555 |
| $150,000 | $164,333 | +$14,333 |
$ in Beaumont-Port Arthur = in Harrisburg-Carlisle
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.0 → 98.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
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.
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX and Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 8.6 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Rents leads the difference, with Harrisburg-Carlisle 25.3 points higher than Beaumont-Port Arthur. 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 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 Beaumont-Port Arthur corresponds to $109,555 in Harrisburg-Carlisle.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 93.8
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 100.7
Diff +6.9 RPP
Services
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 83.1
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 108.1
Diff +25.0 RPP
Rents
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 70.9
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 96.3
Diff +25.3 RPP
| Category | Beaumont-Port Arthur | Harrisburg-Carlisle | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.0 | 98.7 | +8.6 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 100.7 | +6.9 |
| Services | 83.1 | 108.1 | +25.0 |
| Rents | 70.9 | 96.3 | +25.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Beaumont-Port Arthur 90.0
Harrisburg-Carlisle 98.7
Goods
Beaumont-Port Arthur 93.8
Harrisburg-Carlisle 100.7
Services
Beaumont-Port Arthur 83.1
Harrisburg-Carlisle 108.1
Rents
Beaumont-Port Arthur 70.9
Harrisburg-Carlisle 96.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Beaumont-Port Arthur
90.0
Cost Index
Harrisburg-Carlisle
98.7
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Beaumont-Port Arthur and Harrisburg-Carlisle share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 5.6 to 8.6 RPP points. Harrisburg-Carlisle remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 14.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (10.1 to 25.0 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Beaumont-Port Arthur RPP | Harrisburg-Carlisle RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.4 | 99.0 | 5.6 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 97.0 | 3.7 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2016 | 94.8 | 98.2 | 3.4 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2020 | 90.1 | 96.1 | 6.0 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2024 | 90.0 | 98.7 | 8.6 points Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Harrisburg-Carlisle more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur?
Harrisburg-Carlisle is 9.6% more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur. The overall cost index is 98.7 vs 90.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle equals $100K in Beaumont-Port Arthur?
A $100,000 salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur has the same purchasing power as $109,555 in Harrisburg-Carlisle. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Beaumont-Port Arthur and Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Rents in Beaumont-Port Arthur are indexed at 70.9 while Harrisburg-Carlisle is at 96.3 (national average = 100). Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.