Overall
- Cleveland
- 88.1
- Rocky Mount
- 88.0
Diff -0.1 RPP
Cleveland vs Rocky Mount
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rocky Mount is 0.1% less expensive than Cleveland.
0.1% less expensive
Rocky Mount, NC is 0.1% less expensive than Cleveland, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 88.1). A $100,000 salary in Cleveland buys about the same as $99,923 in Rocky Mount; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.1 (Cleveland) vs 88.0 (Rocky Mount)
- $100k in Cleveland ≈ $99,923 purchasing power in Rocky Mount
- Services drives the gap (+16.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:NC 88.1→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TN × NC
- 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
Rocky Mount
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cleveland, TN and Rocky Mount, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Rocky Mount is 16.1 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 Cleveland to $99,923 in Rocky Mount, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Cleveland
- 96.2
- Rocky Mount
- 96.6
Diff +0.4 RPP
Services
- Cleveland
- 72.3
- Rocky Mount
- 88.4
Diff +16.1 RPP
Rents
- Cleveland
- 60.3
- Rocky Mount
- 56.1
Diff -4.2 RPP
| Category | Cleveland | Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.1 | 88.0 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.6 | +0.4 |
| Services | 72.3 | 88.4 | +16.1 |
| Rents | 60.3 | 56.1 | -4.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cleveland 88.1
Rocky Mount 88.0
Goods
Cleveland 96.2
Rocky Mount 96.6
Services
Cleveland 72.3
Rocky Mount 88.4
Rents
Cleveland 60.3
Rocky Mount 56.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cleveland would need to be in Rocky Mount for the same purchasing power:
| In Cleveland | In Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,961 | $-39 |
| $75,000 | $74,942 | $-58 |
| $100,000 | $99,923 | $-77 |
| $150,000 | $149,884 | $-116 |
$ in Cleveland = in Rocky Mount
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.1 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rocky Mount more expensive than Cleveland?
Rocky Mount is 0.1% less expensive than Cleveland. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 88.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rocky Mount equals $100K in Cleveland?
A $100,000 salary in Cleveland has the same purchasing power as $99,923 in Rocky Mount. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cleveland and Rocky Mount?
Rents in Cleveland are indexed at 60.3 while Rocky Mount is at 56.1 (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.