Overall
- Erie
- 91.0
Diff +7.9 RPP
Erie vs Atlantic City-Hammonton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Atlantic City-Hammonton is 8.7% more expensive than Erie.
8.7% more expensive
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ is 8.7% more expensive than Erie, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.9 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in Erie buys about the same as $108,694 in Atlantic City-Hammonton; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (Erie) vs 98.9 (Atlantic City-Hammonton)
- $100k in Erie ≈ $108,694 purchasing power in Atlantic City-Hammonton
- Rents drives the gap (+41.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:NJ 91.0→98.9
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × NJ
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Erie
- 100.7
Diff -0.9 RPP
Services
- Erie
- 106.8
- Atlantic City-Hammonton
- 109.2
Diff +2.4 RPP
Rents
- Erie
- 56.8
Diff +41.8 RPP
| Category | Erie | Atlantic City-Hammonton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 98.9 | +7.9 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 99.8 | -0.9 |
| Services | 106.8 | 109.2 | +2.4 |
| Rents | 56.8 | 98.7 | +41.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Erie 91.0
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.9
Goods
Erie 100.7
Atlantic City-Hammonton 99.8
Services
Erie 106.8
Atlantic City-Hammonton 109.2
Rents
Erie 56.8
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Atlantic City-Hammonton is 41.8 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ is 8.7% more expensive than Erie, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.9-point overall gap.
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.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Erie corresponds to $108,694 in Atlantic City-Hammonton.
Erie
91.0
Cost Index
Atlantic City-Hammonton
98.9
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Erie would need to be in Atlantic City-Hammonton for the same purchasing power:
| In Erie | In Atlantic City-Hammonton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $54,347 | +$4,347 |
| $75,000 | $81,520 | +$6,520 |
| $100,000 | $108,694 | +$8,694 |
| $150,000 | $163,041 | +$13,041 |
$ in Erie = in Atlantic City-Hammonton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 98.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Atlantic City-Hammonton more expensive than Erie?
Atlantic City-Hammonton is 8.7% more expensive than Erie. The overall cost index is 98.9 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton equals $100K in Erie?
A $100,000 salary in Erie has the same purchasing power as $108,694 in Atlantic City-Hammonton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Erie and Atlantic City-Hammonton?
Rents in Erie are indexed at 56.8 while Atlantic City-Hammonton is at 98.7 (national average = 100). Atlantic City-Hammonton 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.