Overall
- Fairbanks-College
- 103.2
- Erie
- 91.0
Diff -12.3 RPP
Fairbanks-College vs Erie
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Erie is 11.9% less expensive than Fairbanks-College.
11.9% less expensive
Erie, PA is 11.9% less expensive than Fairbanks-College, AK on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.0 vs 103.2). A $100,000 salary in Fairbanks-College buys about the same as $88,123 in Erie; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.2 (Fairbanks-College) vs 91.0 (Erie)
- $100k in Fairbanks-College ≈ $88,123 purchasing power in Erie
- Rents drives the gap (-35.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AK:PA 103.2→91.0
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE AK × PA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fairbanks-College would need to be in Erie for the same purchasing power:
| In Fairbanks-College | In Erie | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,062 | $-5,938 |
| $75,000 | $66,092 | $-8,908 |
| $100,000 | $88,123 | $-11,877 |
| $150,000 | $132,185 | $-17,815 |
$ in Fairbanks-College = in Erie
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.2 → 91.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fairbanks-College, AK and Erie, PA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.3 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Fairbanks-College is above 100 while Erie is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Erie 35.7 points lower than Fairbanks-College. 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.
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 Fairbanks-College corresponds to $88,123 in Erie.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fairbanks-College
- 107.3
- Erie
- 100.7
Diff -6.7 RPP
Services
- Fairbanks-College
- 119.8
- Erie
- 106.8
Diff -13.0 RPP
Rents
- Fairbanks-College
- 92.6
- Erie
- 56.8
Diff -35.7 RPP
| Category | Fairbanks-College | Erie | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.2 | 91.0 | -12.3 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 100.7 | -6.7 |
| Services | 119.8 | 106.8 | -13.0 |
| Rents | 92.6 | 56.8 | -35.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fairbanks-College 103.2
Erie 91.0
Goods
Fairbanks-College 107.3
Erie 100.7
Services
Fairbanks-College 119.8
Erie 106.8
Rents
Fairbanks-College 92.6
Erie 56.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Fairbanks-College
103.2
Cost Index
Erie
91.0
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Erie more expensive than Fairbanks-College?
Erie is 11.9% less expensive than Fairbanks-College. The overall cost index is 91.0 vs 103.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Erie equals $100K in Fairbanks-College?
A $100,000 salary in Fairbanks-College has the same purchasing power as $88,123 in Erie. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fairbanks-College and Erie?
Rents in Fairbanks-College are indexed at 92.6 while Erie is at 56.8 (national average = 100). Fairbanks-College 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.