Overall
- Springfield
- 92.7
Diff +0.0 RPP
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford vs Springfield
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Springfield is 0% more expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
0% more expensive
Springfield, IL is 0% more expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford buys about the same as $100,038 in Springfield; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 92.7 (Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford) vs 92.7 (Springfield)
- $100k in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford ≈ $100,038 purchasing power in Springfield
- Goods drives the gap (-3.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair VA:IL 92.7→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE VA × IL
- 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.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
92.7
Cost Index
Springfield
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA and Springfield, IL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Springfield is 3.1 points lower. But goods 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $100,038 in Springfield as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Springfield
- 93.6
Diff -3.1 RPP
Services
- Springfield
- 90.4
Diff +2.3 RPP
Rents
- Springfield
- 71.6
Diff -2.8 RPP
| Category | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | Springfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 92.7 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 93.6 | -3.1 |
| Services | 88.1 | 90.4 | +2.3 |
| Rents | 74.4 | 71.6 | -2.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 92.7
Springfield 92.7
Goods
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 96.8
Springfield 93.6
Services
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 88.1
Springfield 90.4
Rents
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 74.4
Springfield 71.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford and Springfield share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 7.1 to 0.0 RPP points. Springfield remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 17.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (19.4 to 2.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford RPP | Springfield RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 87.9 | 95.0 | 7.1 points Springfield higher |
| 2012 | 88.6 | 93.3 | 4.7 points Springfield higher |
| 2016 | 88.4 | 92.3 | 3.9 points Springfield higher |
| 2020 | 91.0 | 90.9 | 0.1 points Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford higher |
| 2024 | 92.7 | 92.7 | 0.0 points Springfield 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford would need to be in Springfield for the same purchasing power:
| In Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | In Springfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,019 | +$19 |
| $75,000 | $75,028 | +$28 |
| $100,000 | $100,038 | +$38 |
| $150,000 | $150,057 | +$57 |
$ in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford = in Springfield
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Springfield more expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford?
Springfield is 0% more expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Springfield equals $100K in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford?
A $100,000 salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford has the same purchasing power as $100,038 in Springfield. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford and Springfield?
Rents in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford are indexed at 74.4 while Springfield is at 71.6 (national average = 100). Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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.