Overall
- Elmira
- 94.4
Diff -0.2 RPP
Elmira vs Hagerstown-Martinsburg
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 0.2% less expensive than Elmira.
0.2% less expensive
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV is 0.2% less expensive than Elmira, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 94.2 vs 94.4). A $100,000 salary in Elmira buys about the same as $99,760 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.4 (Elmira) vs 94.2 (Hagerstown-Martinsburg)
- $100k in Elmira ≈ $99,760 purchasing power in Hagerstown-Martinsburg
- Services drives the gap (-35.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:MD 94.4→94.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × MD
- 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.
Elmira
94.4
Cost Index
Hagerstown-Martinsburg
94.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Elmira, NY and Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 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 Hagerstown-Martinsburg 35.9 points lower than Elmira. 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 Elmira to $99,760 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Elmira
- 99.7
Diff -3.3 RPP
Services
- Elmira
- 131.6
Diff -35.9 RPP
Rents
- Elmira
- 76.4
Diff -0.6 RPP
| Category | Elmira | Hagerstown-Martinsburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.4 | 94.2 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 96.4 | -3.3 |
| Services | 131.6 | 95.7 | -35.9 |
| Rents | 76.4 | 75.7 | -0.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Elmira 94.4
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 94.2
Goods
Elmira 99.7
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 96.4
Services
Elmira 131.6
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 95.7
Rents
Elmira 76.4
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 75.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Elmira and Hagerstown-Martinsburg share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.5 to 0.2 RPP points. Elmira remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 11.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (8.5 to 3.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Elmira RPP | Hagerstown-Martinsburg RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.7 | 100.2 | 4.5 points Hagerstown-Martinsburg higher |
| 2012 | 94.4 | 99.3 | 4.9 points Hagerstown-Martinsburg higher |
| 2016 | 95.3 | 99.6 | 4.3 points Hagerstown-Martinsburg higher |
| 2020 | 95.3 | 93.1 | 2.3 points Elmira higher |
| 2024 | 94.4 | 94.2 | 0.2 points Elmira higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Elmira would need to be in Hagerstown-Martinsburg for the same purchasing power:
| In Elmira | In Hagerstown-Martinsburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,880 | $-120 |
| $75,000 | $74,820 | $-180 |
| $100,000 | $99,760 | $-240 |
| $150,000 | $149,639 | $-361 |
$ in Elmira = in Hagerstown-Martinsburg
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.4 → 94.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hagerstown-Martinsburg more expensive than Elmira?
Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 0.2% less expensive than Elmira. The overall cost index is 94.2 vs 94.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hagerstown-Martinsburg equals $100K in Elmira?
A $100,000 salary in Elmira has the same purchasing power as $99,760 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Elmira and Hagerstown-Martinsburg?
Rents in Elmira are indexed at 76.4 while Hagerstown-Martinsburg is at 75.7 (national average = 100). Elmira 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.