Overall
- Brunswick-St. Simons
- 87.7
- Sumter
- 88.0
Diff +0.3 RPP
Brunswick-St. Simons vs Sumter
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Sumter is 0.4% more expensive than Brunswick-St. Simons.
0.4% more expensive
Sumter, SC is 0.4% more expensive than Brunswick-St. Simons, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Brunswick-St. Simons buys about the same as $100,356 in Sumter; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Brunswick-St. Simons) vs 88.0 (Sumter)
- $100k in Brunswick-St. Simons ≈ $100,356 purchasing power in Sumter
- Rents drives the gap (+4.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:SC 87.7→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE GA × SC
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Brunswick-St. Simons
87.7
Cost Index
Sumter
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Brunswick-St. Simons, GA and Sumter, SC 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 leads the difference, with Sumter 4.5 points higher than Brunswick-St. Simons. 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.
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 Brunswick-St. Simons corresponds to $100,356 in Sumter.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Brunswick-St. Simons
- 96.3
- Sumter
- 96.3
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
- Brunswick-St. Simons
- 87.3
- Sumter
- 87.3
Diff +0.0 RPP
Rents
- Brunswick-St. Simons
- 56.3
- Sumter
- 60.8
Diff +4.5 RPP
| Category | Brunswick-St. Simons | Sumter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 88.0 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.3 | +0.1 |
| Services | 87.3 | 87.3 | +0.0 |
| Rents | 56.3 | 60.8 | +4.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Brunswick-St. Simons 87.7
Sumter 88.0
Goods
Brunswick-St. Simons 96.3
Sumter 96.3
Services
Brunswick-St. Simons 87.3
Sumter 87.3
Rents
Brunswick-St. Simons 56.3
Sumter 60.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Brunswick-St. Simons would need to be in Sumter for the same purchasing power:
| In Brunswick-St. Simons | In Sumter | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,178 | +$178 |
| $75,000 | $75,267 | +$267 |
| $100,000 | $100,356 | +$356 |
| $150,000 | $150,534 | +$534 |
$ in Brunswick-St. Simons = in Sumter
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sumter more expensive than Brunswick-St. Simons?
Sumter is 0.4% more expensive than Brunswick-St. Simons. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Sumter equals $100K in Brunswick-St. Simons?
A $100,000 salary in Brunswick-St. Simons has the same purchasing power as $100,356 in Sumter. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Brunswick-St. Simons and Sumter?
Rents in Brunswick-St. Simons are indexed at 56.3 while Sumter is at 60.8 (national average = 100). Sumter 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.