Overall
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 97.6
Diff +0.4 RPP
Durham-Chapel Hill vs Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 0.5% more expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill.
0.5% more expensive
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC is 0.5% more expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.0 vs 97.6). A $100,000 salary in Durham-Chapel Hill buys about the same as $100,456 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.6 (Durham-Chapel Hill) vs 98.0 (Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal)
- $100k in Durham-Chapel Hill ≈ $100,456 purchasing power in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
- Rents drives the gap (+2.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:SC 97.6→98.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × SC
- 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.
Durham-Chapel Hill
97.6
Cost Index
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
98.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 2.3 points higher. 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 Durham-Chapel Hill corresponds to $100,456 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 96.6
Diff -0.3 RPP
Services
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 89.3
Diff -1.2 RPP
Rents
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 98.9
Diff +2.3 RPP
| Category | Durham-Chapel Hill | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.6 | 98.0 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.3 | -0.3 |
| Services | 89.3 | 88.1 | -1.2 |
| Rents | 98.9 | 101.2 | +2.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Durham-Chapel Hill 97.6
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 98.0
Goods
Durham-Chapel Hill 96.6
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 96.3
Services
Durham-Chapel Hill 89.3
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 88.1
Rents
Durham-Chapel Hill 98.9
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 101.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Durham-Chapel Hill would need to be in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal for the same purchasing power:
| In Durham-Chapel Hill | In Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,228 | +$228 |
| $75,000 | $75,342 | +$342 |
| $100,000 | $100,456 | +$456 |
| $150,000 | $150,684 | +$684 |
$ in Durham-Chapel Hill = in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.6 → 98.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal more expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill?
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 0.5% more expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill. The overall cost index is 98.0 vs 97.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal equals $100K in Durham-Chapel Hill?
A $100,000 salary in Durham-Chapel Hill has the same purchasing power as $100,456 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Durham-Chapel Hill and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal?
Rents in Durham-Chapel Hill are indexed at 98.9 while Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is at 101.2 (national average = 100). Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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.