Overall
- Chico
- 101.2
- Hanford-Corcoran
- 101.6
Diff +0.4 RPP
Chico vs Hanford-Corcoran
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hanford-Corcoran is 0.4% more expensive than Chico.
0.4% more expensive
Hanford-Corcoran, CA is 0.4% more expensive than Chico, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.6 vs 101.2). A $100,000 salary in Chico buys about the same as $100,410 in Hanford-Corcoran; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 101.2 (Chico) vs 101.6 (Hanford-Corcoran)
- $100k in Chico ≈ $100,410 purchasing power in Hanford-Corcoran
- Rents drives the gap (+1.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:CA 101.2→101.6
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Chico
101.2
Cost Index
Hanford-Corcoran
101.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chico, CA and Hanford-Corcoran, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Hanford-Corcoran is 1.6 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Chico corresponds to $100,410 in Hanford-Corcoran.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chico
- 105.2
- Hanford-Corcoran
- 105.2
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Chico
- 158.8
- Hanford-Corcoran
- 157.4
Diff -1.5 RPP
Rents
- Chico
- 91.9
- Hanford-Corcoran
- 93.5
Diff +1.6 RPP
| Category | Chico | Hanford-Corcoran | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.2 | 101.6 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 105.2 | 0.0 |
| Services | 158.8 | 157.4 | -1.5 |
| Rents | 91.9 | 93.5 | +1.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chico 101.2
Hanford-Corcoran 101.6
Goods
Chico 105.2
Hanford-Corcoran 105.2
Services
Chico 158.8
Hanford-Corcoran 157.4
Rents
Chico 91.9
Hanford-Corcoran 93.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Chico and Hanford-Corcoran share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 1.3 to 0.4 RPP points. Hanford-Corcoran remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 16.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (14.7 to 1.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chico RPP | Hanford-Corcoran RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.4 | 100.7 | 1.3 points Hanford-Corcoran higher |
| 2012 | 103.5 | 96.0 | 7.4 points Chico higher |
| 2016 | 97.1 | 97.1 | 0.0 points Chico higher |
| 2020 | 101.8 | 99.8 | 2.0 points Chico higher |
| 2024 | 101.2 | 101.6 | 0.4 points Hanford-Corcoran 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 Chico would need to be in Hanford-Corcoran for the same purchasing power:
| In Chico | In Hanford-Corcoran | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,205 | +$205 |
| $75,000 | $75,308 | +$308 |
| $100,000 | $100,410 | +$410 |
| $150,000 | $150,615 | +$615 |
$ in Chico = in Hanford-Corcoran
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.2 → 101.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hanford-Corcoran more expensive than Chico?
Hanford-Corcoran is 0.4% more expensive than Chico. The overall cost index is 101.6 vs 101.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hanford-Corcoran equals $100K in Chico?
A $100,000 salary in Chico has the same purchasing power as $100,410 in Hanford-Corcoran. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chico and Hanford-Corcoran?
Rents in Chico are indexed at 91.9 while Hanford-Corcoran is at 93.5 (national average = 100). Hanford-Corcoran 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.