Overall
Diff -0.3 RPP
Cleveland vs Roanoke
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Roanoke is 0.3% less expensive than Cleveland.
0.3% less expensive
Roanoke, VA is 0.3% less expensive than Cleveland, OH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.6 vs 93.9). A $100,000 salary in Cleveland buys about the same as $99,675 in Roanoke; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 93.9 (Cleveland) vs 93.6 (Roanoke)
- $100k in Cleveland ≈ $99,675 purchasing power in Roanoke
- Services drives the gap (-7.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OH:VA 93.9→93.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OH × VA
- 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.
Cleveland
93.9
Cost Index
Roanoke
93.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cleveland, OH and Roanoke, VA 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: Roanoke is 7.1 points lower. But 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 Cleveland to $99,675 in Roanoke, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +3.1 RPP
Services
Diff -7.1 RPP
Rents
Diff -0.9 RPP
| Category | Cleveland | Roanoke | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.9 | 93.6 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 96.8 | +3.1 |
| Services | 96.0 | 88.9 | -7.1 |
| Rents | 79.4 | 78.5 | -0.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cleveland 93.9
Roanoke 93.6
Goods
Cleveland 93.6
Roanoke 96.8
Services
Cleveland 96.0
Roanoke 88.9
Rents
Cleveland 79.4
Roanoke 78.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cleveland would need to be in Roanoke for the same purchasing power:
| In Cleveland | In Roanoke | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,838 | $-162 |
| $75,000 | $74,756 | $-244 |
| $100,000 | $99,675 | $-325 |
| $150,000 | $149,513 | $-487 |
$ in Cleveland = in Roanoke
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.9 → 93.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Roanoke more expensive than Cleveland?
Roanoke is 0.3% less expensive than Cleveland. The overall cost index is 93.6 vs 93.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Roanoke equals $100K in Cleveland?
A $100,000 salary in Cleveland has the same purchasing power as $99,675 in Roanoke. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cleveland and Roanoke?
Rents in Cleveland are indexed at 79.4 while Roanoke is at 78.5 (national average = 100). Cleveland 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.