Overall
Diff +0.5 RPP
El Paso vs Abilene
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Abilene is 0.5% more expensive than El Paso.
0.5% more expensive
Abilene, TX is 0.5% more expensive than El Paso, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.4 vs 89.9). A $100,000 salary in El Paso buys about the same as $100,503 in Abilene; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 89.9 (El Paso) vs 90.4 (Abilene)
- $100k in El Paso ≈ $100,503 purchasing power in Abilene
- Rents drives the gap (+2.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:TX 89.9→90.4
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · TX
- 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.
El Paso
89.9
Cost Index
Abilene
90.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
El Paso, TX and Abilene, TX 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: Abilene is 2.5 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 El Paso corresponds to $100,503 in Abilene.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
Diff -1.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +2.5 RPP
| Category | El Paso | Abilene | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.9 | 90.4 | +0.5 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 | 0.0 |
| Services | 82.6 | 81.2 | -1.4 |
| Rents | 71.2 | 73.8 | +2.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
El Paso 89.9
Abilene 90.4
Goods
El Paso 93.8
Abilene 93.8
Services
El Paso 82.6
Abilene 81.2
Rents
El Paso 71.2
Abilene 73.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in El Paso would need to be in Abilene for the same purchasing power:
| In El Paso | In Abilene | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,251 | +$251 |
| $75,000 | $75,377 | +$377 |
| $100,000 | $100,503 | +$503 |
| $150,000 | $150,754 | +$754 |
$ in El Paso = in Abilene
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.9 → 90.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Abilene more expensive than El Paso?
Abilene is 0.5% more expensive than El Paso. The overall cost index is 90.4 vs 89.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Abilene equals $100K in El Paso?
A $100,000 salary in El Paso has the same purchasing power as $100,503 in Abilene. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between El Paso and Abilene?
Rents in El Paso are indexed at 71.2 while Abilene is at 73.8 (national average = 100). Abilene 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.