Overall
Diff -0.2 RPP
Dothan vs Monroe
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Monroe is 0.3% less expensive than Dothan.
0.3% less expensive
Monroe, LA is 0.3% less expensive than Dothan, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 83.6 vs 83.8). A $100,000 salary in Dothan buys about the same as $99,718 in Monroe; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 83.8 (Dothan) vs 83.6 (Monroe)
- $100k in Dothan ≈ $99,718 purchasing power in Monroe
- Services drives the gap (-12.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:LA 83.8→83.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × LA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Dothan
83.8
Cost Index
Monroe
83.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dothan, AL and Monroe, LA 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 leads the difference, with Monroe 12.1 points lower than Dothan. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Dothan to $99,718 in Monroe, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
Diff -12.1 RPP
Rents
Diff -4.1 RPP
| Category | Dothan | Monroe | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 83.8 | 83.6 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.7 | -2.7 |
| Services | 84.3 | 72.2 | -12.1 |
| Rents | 46.9 | 42.8 | -4.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dothan 83.8
Monroe 83.6
Goods
Dothan 96.4
Monroe 93.7
Services
Dothan 84.3
Monroe 72.2
Rents
Dothan 46.9
Monroe 42.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dothan would need to be in Monroe for the same purchasing power:
| In Dothan | In Monroe | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,859 | $-141 |
| $75,000 | $74,789 | $-211 |
| $100,000 | $99,718 | $-282 |
| $150,000 | $149,578 | $-422 |
$ in Dothan = in Monroe
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (83.8 → 83.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Monroe more expensive than Dothan?
Monroe is 0.3% less expensive than Dothan. The overall cost index is 83.6 vs 83.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Monroe equals $100K in Dothan?
A $100,000 salary in Dothan has the same purchasing power as $99,718 in Monroe. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dothan and Monroe?
Rents in Dothan are indexed at 46.9 while Monroe is at 42.8 (national average = 100). Dothan 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.