Overall
- San Angelo
- 92.5
Diff -0.3 RPP
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. San Angelo is 0.3% less expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
San Angelo, TX is 0.3% less expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.5 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford buys about the same as $99,723 in San Angelo; the largest component gap is rents.
RPP parity plate
Pair VA:TX 92.7→92.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-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.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA and San Angelo, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: San Angelo is 7.1 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 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford corresponds to $99,723 in San Angelo.
Diff -0.3 RPP
Diff -3.0 RPP
Diff -6.5 RPP
Diff +7.1 RPP
| Category | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | San Angelo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 92.5 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 93.8 | -3.0 |
| Services | 88.1 | 81.6 | -6.5 |
| Rents | 74.4 | 81.4 | +7.1 |
Vertical line = national average (100)
What a salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford would need to be in San Angelo for the same purchasing power:
| In Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | In San Angelo | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,861 | $-139 |
| $75,000 | $74,792 | $-208 |
| $100,000 | $99,723 | $-277 |
| $150,000 | $149,584 | $-416 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 92.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
San Angelo is 0.3% less expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford. The overall cost index is 92.5 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
A $100,000 salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford has the same purchasing power as $99,723 in San Angelo. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
Rents in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford are indexed at 74.4 while San Angelo is at 81.4 (national average = 100). San Angelo has higher rents.
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.