Overall
- Decatur
- 88.4
- Rocky Mount
- 88.0
Diff -0.4 RPP
Decatur vs Rocky Mount
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rocky Mount is 0.5% less expensive than Decatur.
0.5% less expensive
Rocky Mount, NC is 0.5% less expensive than Decatur, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 88.4). A $100,000 salary in Decatur buys about the same as $99,536 in Rocky Mount; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 88.4 (Decatur) vs 88.0 (Rocky Mount)
- $100k in Decatur ≈ $99,536 purchasing power in Rocky Mount
- Goods drives the gap (+3.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:NC 88.4→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × 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.
Decatur
88.4
Cost Index
Rocky Mount
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Decatur, IL and Rocky Mount, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Rocky Mount is 3.0 points higher. But 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,536 in Rocky Mount as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Decatur, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Decatur
- 93.6
- Rocky Mount
- 96.6
Diff +3.0 RPP
Services
- Decatur
- 91.1
- Rocky Mount
- 88.4
Diff -2.7 RPP
Rents
- Decatur
- 56.2
- Rocky Mount
- 56.1
Diff -0.1 RPP
| Category | Decatur | Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.4 | 88.0 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 96.6 | +3.0 |
| Services | 91.1 | 88.4 | -2.7 |
| Rents | 56.2 | 56.1 | -0.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Decatur 88.4
Rocky Mount 88.0
Goods
Decatur 93.6
Rocky Mount 96.6
Services
Decatur 91.1
Rocky Mount 88.4
Rents
Decatur 56.2
Rocky Mount 56.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Decatur would need to be in Rocky Mount for the same purchasing power:
| In Decatur | In Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,768 | $-232 |
| $75,000 | $74,652 | $-348 |
| $100,000 | $99,536 | $-464 |
| $150,000 | $149,304 | $-696 |
$ in Decatur = in Rocky Mount
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.4 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rocky Mount more expensive than Decatur?
Rocky Mount is 0.5% less expensive than Decatur. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 88.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rocky Mount equals $100K in Decatur?
A $100,000 salary in Decatur has the same purchasing power as $99,536 in Rocky Mount. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Decatur and Rocky Mount?
Rents in Decatur are indexed at 56.2 while Rocky Mount is at 56.1 (national average = 100). Decatur 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.