Overall
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 97.6
Diff -0.4 RPP
Durham-Chapel Hill vs Lakeland-Winter Haven
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lakeland-Winter Haven is 0.4% less expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill.
0.4% less expensive
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is 0.4% less expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.1 vs 97.6). A $100,000 salary in Durham-Chapel Hill buys about the same as $99,558 in Lakeland-Winter Haven; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.6 (Durham-Chapel Hill) vs 97.1 (Lakeland-Winter Haven)
- $100k in Durham-Chapel Hill ≈ $99,558 purchasing power in Lakeland-Winter Haven
- Rents drives the gap (-3.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:FL 97.6→97.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × FL
- RENT-LED Rent-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.
Durham-Chapel Hill
97.6
Cost Index
Lakeland-Winter Haven
97.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC and Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 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 leads the difference, with Lakeland-Winter Haven 3.0 points lower than Durham-Chapel Hill. 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 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 $99,558 in Lakeland-Winter Haven.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 96.6
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 89.3
Diff -2.4 RPP
Rents
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 98.9
Diff -3.0 RPP
| Category | Durham-Chapel Hill | Lakeland-Winter Haven | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.6 | 97.1 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.2 | -0.4 |
| Services | 89.3 | 86.9 | -2.4 |
| Rents | 98.9 | 95.9 | -3.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Durham-Chapel Hill 97.6
Lakeland-Winter Haven 97.1
Goods
Durham-Chapel Hill 96.6
Lakeland-Winter Haven 96.2
Services
Durham-Chapel Hill 89.3
Lakeland-Winter Haven 86.9
Rents
Durham-Chapel Hill 98.9
Lakeland-Winter Haven 95.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Durham-Chapel Hill would need to be in Lakeland-Winter Haven for the same purchasing power:
| In Durham-Chapel Hill | In Lakeland-Winter Haven | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,779 | $-221 |
| $75,000 | $74,669 | $-331 |
| $100,000 | $99,558 | $-442 |
| $150,000 | $149,337 | $-663 |
$ in Durham-Chapel Hill = in Lakeland-Winter Haven
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.6 → 97.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lakeland-Winter Haven more expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill?
Lakeland-Winter Haven is 0.4% less expensive than Durham-Chapel Hill. The overall cost index is 97.1 vs 97.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven equals $100K in Durham-Chapel Hill?
A $100,000 salary in Durham-Chapel Hill has the same purchasing power as $99,558 in Lakeland-Winter Haven. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Durham-Chapel Hill and Lakeland-Winter Haven?
Rents in Durham-Chapel Hill are indexed at 98.9 while Lakeland-Winter Haven is at 95.9 (national average = 100). Durham-Chapel Hill 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.