Overall
- Burlington
- 93.2
- Oshkosh-Neenah
- 92.9
Diff -0.3 RPP
Burlington vs Oshkosh-Neenah
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Oshkosh-Neenah is 0.3% less expensive than Burlington.
0.3% less expensive
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI is 0.3% less expensive than Burlington, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.9 vs 93.2). A $100,000 salary in Burlington buys about the same as $99,714 in Oshkosh-Neenah; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.2 (Burlington) vs 92.9 (Oshkosh-Neenah)
- $100k in Burlington ≈ $99,714 purchasing power in Oshkosh-Neenah
- Rents drives the gap (-3.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:WI 93.2→92.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × WI
- 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.
Burlington
93.2
Cost Index
Oshkosh-Neenah
92.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Burlington, NC and Oshkosh-Neenah, WI 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: Oshkosh-Neenah is 3.4 points lower. But 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 Burlington corresponds to $99,714 in Oshkosh-Neenah.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Burlington
- 96.6
- Oshkosh-Neenah
- 93.8
Diff -2.8 RPP
Services
- Burlington
- 89.2
- Oshkosh-Neenah
- 90.6
Diff +1.4 RPP
Rents
- Burlington
- 77.9
- Oshkosh-Neenah
- 74.4
Diff -3.4 RPP
| Category | Burlington | Oshkosh-Neenah | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.2 | 92.9 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 93.8 | -2.8 |
| Services | 89.2 | 90.6 | +1.4 |
| Rents | 77.9 | 74.4 | -3.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Burlington 93.2
Oshkosh-Neenah 92.9
Goods
Burlington 96.6
Oshkosh-Neenah 93.8
Services
Burlington 89.2
Oshkosh-Neenah 90.6
Rents
Burlington 77.9
Oshkosh-Neenah 74.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Burlington and Oshkosh-Neenah share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.6 to 0.3 RPP points. Burlington remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 17.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (13.6 to 3.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Burlington RPP | Oshkosh-Neenah RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.5 | 97.1 | 4.6 points Oshkosh-Neenah higher |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 94.4 | 1.1 points Oshkosh-Neenah higher |
| 2016 | 92.2 | 93.0 | 0.8 points Oshkosh-Neenah higher |
| 2020 | 89.7 | 92.6 | 2.9 points Oshkosh-Neenah higher |
| 2024 | 93.2 | 92.9 | 0.3 points Burlington 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 Burlington would need to be in Oshkosh-Neenah for the same purchasing power:
| In Burlington | In Oshkosh-Neenah | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,857 | $-143 |
| $75,000 | $74,785 | $-215 |
| $100,000 | $99,714 | $-286 |
| $150,000 | $149,570 | $-430 |
$ in Burlington = in Oshkosh-Neenah
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.2 → 92.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Oshkosh-Neenah more expensive than Burlington?
Oshkosh-Neenah is 0.3% less expensive than Burlington. The overall cost index is 92.9 vs 93.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Oshkosh-Neenah equals $100K in Burlington?
A $100,000 salary in Burlington has the same purchasing power as $99,714 in Oshkosh-Neenah. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Burlington and Oshkosh-Neenah?
Rents in Burlington are indexed at 77.9 while Oshkosh-Neenah is at 74.4 (national average = 100). Burlington 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.