Overall
- Erie
- 91.0
- Elizabethtown
- 90.6
Diff -0.4 RPP
Erie vs Elizabethtown
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Elizabethtown is 0.4% less expensive than Erie.
0.4% less expensive
Elizabethtown, KY is 0.4% less expensive than Erie, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.6 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in Erie buys about the same as $99,584 in Elizabethtown; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (Erie) vs 90.6 (Elizabethtown)
- $100k in Erie ≈ $99,584 purchasing power in Elizabethtown
- Services drives the gap (-32.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:KY 91.0→90.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × KY
- 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.
Erie
91.0
Cost Index
Elizabethtown
90.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Erie, PA and Elizabethtown, KY 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Elizabethtown is 32.2 points lower. But rents 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Erie to $99,584 in Elizabethtown, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Erie
- 100.7
- Elizabethtown
- 96.2
Diff -4.4 RPP
Services
- Erie
- 106.8
- Elizabethtown
- 74.6
Diff -32.2 RPP
Rents
- Erie
- 56.8
- Elizabethtown
- 66.7
Diff +9.8 RPP
| Category | Erie | Elizabethtown | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 90.6 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 96.2 | -4.4 |
| Services | 106.8 | 74.6 | -32.2 |
| Rents | 56.8 | 66.7 | +9.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Erie 91.0
Elizabethtown 90.6
Goods
Erie 100.7
Elizabethtown 96.2
Services
Erie 106.8
Elizabethtown 74.6
Rents
Erie 56.8
Elizabethtown 66.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Erie would need to be in Elizabethtown for the same purchasing power:
| In Erie | In Elizabethtown | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,792 | $-208 |
| $75,000 | $74,688 | $-312 |
| $100,000 | $99,584 | $-416 |
| $150,000 | $149,377 | $-623 |
$ in Erie = in Elizabethtown
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 90.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elizabethtown more expensive than Erie?
Elizabethtown is 0.4% less expensive than Erie. The overall cost index is 90.6 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Elizabethtown equals $100K in Erie?
A $100,000 salary in Erie has the same purchasing power as $99,584 in Elizabethtown. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Erie and Elizabethtown?
Rents in Erie are indexed at 56.8 while Elizabethtown is at 66.7 (national average = 100). Elizabethtown 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.