Overall
- Columbia
- 93.7
Diff -0.1 RPP
Columbia vs Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is 0.1% less expensive than Columbia.
0.1% less expensive
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA is 0.1% less expensive than Columbia, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.6 vs 93.7). A $100,000 salary in Columbia buys about the same as $99,887 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 93.7 (Columbia) vs 93.6 (Scranton--Wilkes-Barre)
- $100k in Columbia ≈ $99,887 purchasing power in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- Services drives the gap (+18.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:PA 93.7→93.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × PA
- 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.
Columbia
93.7
Cost Index
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
93.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Columbia, SC and Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 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: Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is 18.2 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 Columbia to $99,887 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Columbia
- 96.3
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 100.7
Diff +4.3 RPP
Services
- Columbia
- 88.3
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 106.5
Diff +18.2 RPP
Rents
- Columbia
- 79.5
Diff -12.5 RPP
| Category | Columbia | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.7 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 100.7 | +4.3 |
| Services | 88.3 | 106.5 | +18.2 |
| Rents | 79.5 | 67.0 | -12.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Columbia 93.7
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 93.6
Goods
Columbia 96.3
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 100.7
Services
Columbia 88.3
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 106.5
Rents
Columbia 79.5
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 67.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Columbia would need to be in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre for the same purchasing power:
| In Columbia | In Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,943 | $-57 |
| $75,000 | $74,915 | $-85 |
| $100,000 | $99,887 | $-113 |
| $150,000 | $149,830 | $-170 |
$ in Columbia = in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.7 → 93.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Scranton--Wilkes-Barre more expensive than Columbia?
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is 0.1% less expensive than Columbia. The overall cost index is 93.6 vs 93.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre equals $100K in Columbia?
A $100,000 salary in Columbia has the same purchasing power as $99,887 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Columbia and Scranton--Wilkes-Barre?
Rents in Columbia are indexed at 79.5 while Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is at 67.0 (national average = 100). Columbia 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.