Overall
- Rochester
- 97.0
Diff -0.3 RPP
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia vs Rochester
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rochester is 0.3% less expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia.
0.3% less expensive
Rochester, NY is 0.3% less expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.0 vs 97.3). A $100,000 salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia buys about the same as $99,678 in Rochester; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 97.3 (Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia) vs 97.0 (Rochester)
- $100k in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ≈ $99,678 purchasing power in Rochester
- Services drives the gap (+44.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:NY 97.3→97.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × NY
- 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.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
97.3
Cost Index
Rochester
97.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC and Rochester, NY 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Rochester is 44.0 points higher. But services and goods 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia to $99,678 in Rochester, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rochester
- 99.7
Diff +3.1 RPP
Services
- Rochester
- 133.2
Diff +44.0 RPP
Rents
- Rochester
- 87.5
Diff -10.2 RPP
| Category | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | Rochester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.3 | 97.0 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 99.7 | +3.1 |
| Services | 89.2 | 133.2 | +44.0 |
| Rents | 97.6 | 87.5 | -10.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 97.3
Rochester 97.0
Goods
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 96.6
Rochester 99.7
Services
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 89.2
Rochester 133.2
Rents
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 97.6
Rochester 87.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia would need to be in Rochester for the same purchasing power:
| In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | In Rochester | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,839 | $-161 |
| $75,000 | $74,759 | $-241 |
| $100,000 | $99,678 | $-322 |
| $150,000 | $149,518 | $-482 |
$ in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia = in Rochester
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.3 → 97.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rochester more expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?
Rochester is 0.3% less expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. The overall cost index is 97.0 vs 97.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rochester equals $100K in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?
A $100,000 salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has the same purchasing power as $99,678 in Rochester. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia and Rochester?
Rents in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia are indexed at 97.6 while Rochester is at 87.5 (national average = 100). Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.