Overall
- Carson City
- 98.1
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
Diff +0.2 RPP
Carson City vs Barnstable Town
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Barnstable Town is 0.2% more expensive than Carson City.
0.2% more expensive
Barnstable Town, MA is 0.2% more expensive than Carson City, NV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 98.1). A $100,000 salary in Carson City buys about the same as $100,225 in Barnstable Town; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.1 (Carson City) vs 98.4 (Barnstable Town)
- $100k in Carson City ≈ $100,225 purchasing power in Barnstable Town
- Services drives the gap (+65.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NV:MA 98.1→98.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NV × MA
- 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.
Carson City
98.1
Cost Index
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Carson City, NV and Barnstable Town, MA 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: Barnstable Town is 65.8 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Carson City to $100,225 in Barnstable Town, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Carson City
- 96.3
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
Diff +0.7 RPP
Services
- Carson City
- 92.7
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
Diff +65.8 RPP
Rents
- Carson City
- 101.2
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
Diff -11.2 RPP
| Category | Carson City | Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.1 | 98.4 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 97.0 | +0.7 |
| Services | 92.7 | 158.4 | +65.8 |
| Rents | 101.2 | 90.0 | -11.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Carson City 98.1
Barnstable Town 98.4
Goods
Carson City 96.3
Barnstable Town 97.0
Services
Carson City 92.7
Barnstable Town 158.4
Rents
Carson City 101.2
Barnstable Town 90.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Carson City would need to be in Barnstable Town for the same purchasing power:
| In Carson City | In Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,113 | +$113 |
| $75,000 | $75,169 | +$169 |
| $100,000 | $100,225 | +$225 |
| $150,000 | $150,338 | +$338 |
$ in Carson City = in Barnstable Town
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.1 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barnstable Town more expensive than Carson City?
Barnstable Town is 0.2% more expensive than Carson City. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 98.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Barnstable Town equals $100K in Carson City?
A $100,000 salary in Carson City has the same purchasing power as $100,225 in Barnstable Town. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Carson City and Barnstable Town?
Rents in Carson City are indexed at 101.2 while Barnstable Town is at 90.0 (national average = 100). Carson City 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.