Overall
- Fairbanks-College
- 103.2
Diff +6.2 RPP
Fairbanks-College vs Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh is 6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College.
6% more expensive
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY is 6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College, AK on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 109.4 vs 103.2). A $100,000 salary in Fairbanks-College buys about the same as $106,021 in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.2 (Fairbanks-College) vs 109.4 (Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh)
- $100k in Fairbanks-College ≈ $106,021 purchasing power in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh
- Rents drives the gap (+23.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AK:NY 103.2→109.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE AK × NY
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fairbanks-College would need to be in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh for the same purchasing power:
| In Fairbanks-College | In Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,010 | +$3,010 |
| $75,000 | $79,516 | +$4,516 |
| $100,000 | $106,021 | +$6,021 |
| $150,000 | $159,031 | +$9,031 |
$ in Fairbanks-College = in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.2 → 109.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY is 6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College, AK, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.2-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 23.2 points higher 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 $106,021 in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fairbanks-College
- 107.3
Diff +2.9 RPP
Services
- Fairbanks-College
- 119.8
Diff +17.0 RPP
Rents
- Fairbanks-College
- 92.6
Diff +23.2 RPP
| Category | Fairbanks-College | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.2 | 109.4 | +6.2 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 110.3 | +2.9 |
| Services | 119.8 | 136.8 | +17.0 |
| Rents | 92.6 | 115.8 | +23.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fairbanks-College 103.2
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 109.4
Goods
Fairbanks-College 107.3
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 110.3
Services
Fairbanks-College 119.8
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 136.8
Rents
Fairbanks-College 92.6
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 115.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Fairbanks-College
103.2
Cost Index
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh
109.4
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Fairbanks-College and Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 104.7 to 6.2 RPP points. Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 143.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (120.5 to 23.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Fairbanks-College RPP | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 104.7 | 0.0 | 104.7 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2012 | 97.9 | 0.0 | 97.9 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2016 | 100.4 | 109.8 | 9.3 points Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh higher |
| 2020 | 99.4 | 109.7 | 10.3 points Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh higher |
| 2024 | 103.2 | 109.4 | 6.2 points Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh more expensive than Fairbanks-College?
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh is 6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College. The overall cost index is 109.4 vs 103.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh equals $100K in Fairbanks-College?
A $100,000 salary in Fairbanks-College has the same purchasing power as $106,021 in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fairbanks-College and Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh?
Rents in Fairbanks-College are indexed at 92.6 while Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh is at 115.8 (national average = 100). Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 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.