Overall
Diff -0.5 RPP
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley vs Hagerstown-Martinsburg
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 0.5% less expensive than Daphne-Fairhope-Foley.
0.5% less expensive
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV is 0.5% less expensive than Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 94.2 vs 94.7). A $100,000 salary in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley buys about the same as $99,452 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 94.7 (Daphne-Fairhope-Foley) vs 94.2 (Hagerstown-Martinsburg)
- $100k in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley ≈ $99,452 purchasing power in Hagerstown-Martinsburg
- Rents drives the gap (-13.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:MD 94.7→94.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × MD
- 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.
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley
94.7
Cost Index
Hagerstown-Martinsburg
94.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL and Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 13.4 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 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 Daphne-Fairhope-Foley corresponds to $99,452 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.0 RPP
Services
Diff +12.4 RPP
Rents
Diff -13.4 RPP
| Category | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley | Hagerstown-Martinsburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.7 | 94.2 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.4 | +0.0 |
| Services | 83.3 | 95.7 | +12.4 |
| Rents | 89.2 | 75.7 | -13.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley 94.7
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 94.2
Goods
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley 96.4
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 96.4
Services
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley 83.3
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 95.7
Rents
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley 89.2
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 75.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley would need to be in Hagerstown-Martinsburg for the same purchasing power:
| In Daphne-Fairhope-Foley | In Hagerstown-Martinsburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,726 | $-274 |
| $75,000 | $74,589 | $-411 |
| $100,000 | $99,452 | $-548 |
| $150,000 | $149,178 | $-822 |
$ in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley = in Hagerstown-Martinsburg
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.7 → 94.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hagerstown-Martinsburg more expensive than Daphne-Fairhope-Foley?
Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 0.5% less expensive than Daphne-Fairhope-Foley. The overall cost index is 94.2 vs 94.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hagerstown-Martinsburg equals $100K in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley?
A $100,000 salary in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley has the same purchasing power as $99,452 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Daphne-Fairhope-Foley and Hagerstown-Martinsburg?
Rents in Daphne-Fairhope-Foley are indexed at 89.2 while Hagerstown-Martinsburg is at 75.7 (national average = 100). Daphne-Fairhope-Foley 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.