Overall
- Cleveland
- 88.1
- Johnson City
- 87.9
Diff -0.2 RPP
Cleveland vs Johnson City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Johnson City is 0.2% less expensive than Cleveland.
0.2% less expensive
Johnson City, TN is 0.2% less expensive than Cleveland, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.9 vs 88.1). A $100,000 salary in Cleveland buys about the same as $99,827 in Johnson City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.1 (Cleveland) vs 87.9 (Johnson City)
- $100k in Cleveland ≈ $99,827 purchasing power in Johnson City
- Rents drives the gap (+2.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:TN 88.1→87.9
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · TN
- 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
88.1
Cost Index
Johnson City
87.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cleveland, TN and Johnson City, TN 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Johnson City is 2.8 points higher. But rents 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 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 Cleveland corresponds to $99,827 in Johnson City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Cleveland
- 96.2
- Johnson City
- 96.2
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Cleveland
- 72.3
- Johnson City
- 71.9
Diff -0.4 RPP
Rents
- Cleveland
- 60.3
- Johnson City
- 63.2
Diff +2.8 RPP
| Category | Cleveland | Johnson City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.1 | 87.9 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.2 | 0.0 |
| Services | 72.3 | 71.9 | -0.4 |
| Rents | 60.3 | 63.2 | +2.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cleveland 88.1
Johnson City 87.9
Goods
Cleveland 96.2
Johnson City 96.2
Services
Cleveland 72.3
Johnson City 71.9
Rents
Cleveland 60.3
Johnson City 63.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cleveland would need to be in Johnson City for the same purchasing power:
| In Cleveland | In Johnson City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,914 | $-86 |
| $75,000 | $74,871 | $-129 |
| $100,000 | $99,827 | $-173 |
| $150,000 | $149,741 | $-259 |
$ in Cleveland = in Johnson City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.1 → 87.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Johnson City more expensive than Cleveland?
Johnson City is 0.2% less expensive than Cleveland. The overall cost index is 87.9 vs 88.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Johnson City equals $100K in Cleveland?
A $100,000 salary in Cleveland has the same purchasing power as $99,827 in Johnson City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cleveland and Johnson City?
Rents in Cleveland are indexed at 60.3 while Johnson City is at 63.2 (national average = 100). Johnson 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.