Overall
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 90.0
- Montgomery
- 89.7
Diff -0.4 RPP
Beaumont-Port Arthur vs Montgomery
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Montgomery is 0.4% less expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur.
0.4% less expensive
Montgomery, AL is 0.4% less expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.7 vs 90.0). A $100,000 salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur buys about the same as $99,596 in Montgomery; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.0 (Beaumont-Port Arthur) vs 89.7 (Montgomery)
- $100k in Beaumont-Port Arthur ≈ $99,596 purchasing power in Montgomery
- Rents drives the gap (-6.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:AL 90.0→89.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × AL
- 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
Montgomery
89.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX and Montgomery, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Montgomery is 6.6 points lower. But goods and services 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 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 $99,596 in Montgomery.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 93.8
- Montgomery
- 96.4
Diff +2.6 RPP
Services
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 83.1
- Montgomery
- 84.9
Diff +1.8 RPP
Rents
- Beaumont-Port Arthur
- 70.9
- Montgomery
- 64.3
Diff -6.6 RPP
| Category | Beaumont-Port Arthur | Montgomery | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.0 | 89.7 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.4 | +2.6 |
| Services | 83.1 | 84.9 | +1.8 |
| Rents | 70.9 | 64.3 | -6.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Beaumont-Port Arthur 90.0
Montgomery 89.7
Goods
Beaumont-Port Arthur 93.8
Montgomery 96.4
Services
Beaumont-Port Arthur 83.1
Montgomery 84.9
Rents
Beaumont-Port Arthur 70.9
Montgomery 64.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Beaumont-Port Arthur and Montgomery share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.1 to 0.4 RPP points. Beaumont-Port Arthur remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (7.8 to 1.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Beaumont-Port Arthur RPP | Montgomery RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.4 | 91.3 | 2.1 points Beaumont-Port Arthur higher |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 93.3 | 0.0 points Beaumont-Port Arthur higher |
| 2016 | 94.8 | 93.1 | 1.6 points Beaumont-Port Arthur higher |
| 2020 | 90.1 | 87.5 | 2.6 points Beaumont-Port Arthur higher |
| 2024 | 90.0 | 89.7 | 0.4 points Beaumont-Port Arthur 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 Beaumont-Port Arthur would need to be in Montgomery for the same purchasing power:
| In Beaumont-Port Arthur | In Montgomery | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,798 | $-202 |
| $75,000 | $74,697 | $-303 |
| $100,000 | $99,596 | $-404 |
| $150,000 | $149,394 | $-606 |
$ in Beaumont-Port Arthur = in Montgomery
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.0 → 89.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Montgomery more expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur?
Montgomery is 0.4% less expensive than Beaumont-Port Arthur. The overall cost index is 89.7 vs 90.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Montgomery equals $100K in Beaumont-Port Arthur?
A $100,000 salary in Beaumont-Port Arthur has the same purchasing power as $99,596 in Montgomery. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Beaumont-Port Arthur and Montgomery?
Rents in Beaumont-Port Arthur are indexed at 70.9 while Montgomery is at 64.3 (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.