Overall
- Dalton
- 89.8
- Gulfport-Biloxi
- 90.0
Diff +0.2 RPP
Dalton vs Gulfport-Biloxi
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Gulfport-Biloxi is 0.2% more expensive than Dalton.
0.2% more expensive
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS is 0.2% more expensive than Dalton, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.0 vs 89.8). A $100,000 salary in Dalton buys about the same as $100,180 in Gulfport-Biloxi; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.8 (Dalton) vs 90.0 (Gulfport-Biloxi)
- $100k in Dalton ≈ $100,180 purchasing power in Gulfport-Biloxi
- Services drives the gap (-12.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:MS 89.8→90.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE GA × MS
- 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.
Dalton
89.8
Cost Index
Gulfport-Biloxi
90.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dalton, GA and Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Gulfport-Biloxi is 12.4 points lower. 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 Dalton to $100,180 in Gulfport-Biloxi, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dalton
- 96.3
- Gulfport-Biloxi
- 96.2
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Dalton
- 88.8
- Gulfport-Biloxi
- 76.3
Diff -12.4 RPP
Rents
- Dalton
- 63.3
- Gulfport-Biloxi
- 67.9
Diff +4.6 RPP
| Category | Dalton | Gulfport-Biloxi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.8 | 90.0 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.2 | -0.1 |
| Services | 88.8 | 76.3 | -12.4 |
| Rents | 63.3 | 67.9 | +4.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dalton 89.8
Gulfport-Biloxi 90.0
Goods
Dalton 96.3
Gulfport-Biloxi 96.2
Services
Dalton 88.8
Gulfport-Biloxi 76.3
Rents
Dalton 63.3
Gulfport-Biloxi 67.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Dalton and Gulfport-Biloxi share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 6.1 to 0.2 RPP points. Gulfport-Biloxi remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 17.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (4.6 to 12.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Dalton RPP | Gulfport-Biloxi RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.3 | 95.3 | 6.1 points Gulfport-Biloxi higher |
| 2012 | 88.5 | 94.3 | 5.8 points Gulfport-Biloxi higher |
| 2016 | 87.6 | 92.5 | 4.9 points Gulfport-Biloxi higher |
| 2020 | 84.5 | 89.2 | 4.7 points Gulfport-Biloxi higher |
| 2024 | 89.8 | 90.0 | 0.2 points Gulfport-Biloxi higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dalton would need to be in Gulfport-Biloxi for the same purchasing power:
| In Dalton | In Gulfport-Biloxi | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,090 | +$90 |
| $75,000 | $75,135 | +$135 |
| $100,000 | $100,180 | +$180 |
| $150,000 | $150,270 | +$270 |
$ in Dalton = in Gulfport-Biloxi
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.8 → 90.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gulfport-Biloxi more expensive than Dalton?
Gulfport-Biloxi is 0.2% more expensive than Dalton. The overall cost index is 90.0 vs 89.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Gulfport-Biloxi equals $100K in Dalton?
A $100,000 salary in Dalton has the same purchasing power as $100,180 in Gulfport-Biloxi. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dalton and Gulfport-Biloxi?
Rents in Dalton are indexed at 63.3 while Gulfport-Biloxi is at 67.9 (national average = 100). Gulfport-Biloxi 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.