Overall
- Binghamton
- 92.9
Diff +0.2 RPP
Binghamton vs Louisville/Jefferson County
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Louisville/Jefferson County is 0.2% more expensive than Binghamton.
0.2% more expensive
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN is 0.2% more expensive than Binghamton, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.1 vs 92.9). A $100,000 salary in Binghamton buys about the same as $100,227 in Louisville/Jefferson County; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.9 (Binghamton) vs 93.1 (Louisville/Jefferson County)
- $100k in Binghamton ≈ $100,227 purchasing power in Louisville/Jefferson County
- Services drives the gap (-56.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:KY 92.9→93.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × 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.
Binghamton
92.9
Cost Index
Louisville/Jefferson County
93.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Binghamton, NY and Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Louisville/Jefferson County is 56.6 points lower. But services and goods 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 Binghamton to $100,227 in Louisville/Jefferson County, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Binghamton
- 99.7
Diff -3.5 RPP
Services
- Binghamton
- 131.6
Diff -56.6 RPP
Rents
- Binghamton
- 69.7
Diff +8.9 RPP
| Category | Binghamton | Louisville/Jefferson County | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.9 | 93.1 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 96.2 | -3.5 |
| Services | 131.6 | 75.0 | -56.6 |
| Rents | 69.7 | 78.6 | +8.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Binghamton 92.9
Louisville/Jefferson County 93.1
Goods
Binghamton 99.7
Louisville/Jefferson County 96.2
Services
Binghamton 131.6
Louisville/Jefferson County 75.0
Rents
Binghamton 69.7
Louisville/Jefferson County 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Binghamton would need to be in Louisville/Jefferson County for the same purchasing power:
| In Binghamton | In Louisville/Jefferson County | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,114 | +$114 |
| $75,000 | $75,170 | +$170 |
| $100,000 | $100,227 | +$227 |
| $150,000 | $150,341 | +$341 |
$ in Binghamton = in Louisville/Jefferson County
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.9 → 93.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Louisville/Jefferson County more expensive than Binghamton?
Louisville/Jefferson County is 0.2% more expensive than Binghamton. The overall cost index is 93.1 vs 92.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Louisville/Jefferson County equals $100K in Binghamton?
A $100,000 salary in Binghamton has the same purchasing power as $100,227 in Louisville/Jefferson County. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Binghamton and Louisville/Jefferson County?
Rents in Binghamton are indexed at 69.7 while Louisville/Jefferson County is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Louisville/Jefferson County 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.