Overall
Diff +0.3 RPP
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is 0.3% more expensive than Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC is 0.3% more expensive than Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 97.0). A $100,000 salary in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin buys about the same as $100,327 in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia; the largest component gap is rents.
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:NC 97.0→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-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.
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL and Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 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.
Rents leads the difference, with Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 2.7 points higher than Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin corresponds to $100,327 in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia.
Diff +0.3 RPP
Diff +0.3 RPP
Diff +0.1 RPP
Diff +2.7 RPP
| Category | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.0 | 97.3 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.6 | +0.3 |
| Services | 89.0 | 89.2 | +0.1 |
| Rents | 94.9 | 97.6 | +2.7 |
Vertical line = national average (100)
What a salary in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin would need to be in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia for the same purchasing power:
| In Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin | In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,163 | +$163 |
| $75,000 | $75,245 | +$245 |
| $100,000 | $100,327 | +$327 |
| $150,000 | $150,490 | +$490 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.0 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is 0.3% more expensive than Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 97.0 (national average = 100).
A $100,000 salary in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin has the same purchasing power as $100,327 in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
Rents in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin are indexed at 94.9 while Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is at 97.6 (national average = 100). Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has higher rents.
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.