Overall
Diff -0.7 RPP
Fargo vs Rome
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rome is 0.8% less expensive than Fargo.
0.8% less expensive
Rome, GA is 0.8% less expensive than Fargo, ND-MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.2 vs 90.9). A $100,000 salary in Fargo buys about the same as $99,219 in Rome; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.9 (Fargo) vs 90.2 (Rome)
- $100k in Fargo ≈ $99,219 purchasing power in Rome
- Rents drives the gap (-20.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ND:GA 90.9→90.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ND × GA
- 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.
Fargo
90.9
Cost Index
Rome
90.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fargo, ND-MN and Rome, GA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Rome is 20.9 points lower. But services and goods 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 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 Fargo corresponds to $99,219 in Rome.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
Diff +13.4 RPP
Rents
Diff -20.9 RPP
| Category | Fargo | Rome | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.9 | 90.2 | -0.7 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 96.3 | +0.6 |
| Services | 77.3 | 90.7 | +13.4 |
| Rents | 81.1 | 60.3 | -20.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fargo 90.9
Rome 90.2
Goods
Fargo 95.7
Rome 96.3
Services
Fargo 77.3
Rome 90.7
Rents
Fargo 81.1
Rome 60.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Fargo and Rome share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 9.3 to 0.7 RPP points. Fargo remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (3.9 to 13.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Fargo RPP | Rome RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.3 | 88.0 | 9.3 points Fargo higher |
| 2012 | 95.9 | 86.3 | 9.6 points Fargo higher |
| 2016 | 95.4 | 88.3 | 7.1 points Fargo higher |
| 2020 | 92.5 | 86.3 | 6.1 points Fargo higher |
| 2024 | 90.9 | 90.2 | 0.7 points Fargo 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 Fargo would need to be in Rome for the same purchasing power:
| In Fargo | In Rome | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,609 | $-391 |
| $75,000 | $74,414 | $-586 |
| $100,000 | $99,219 | $-781 |
| $150,000 | $148,828 | $-1,172 |
$ in Fargo = in Rome
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.9 → 90.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rome more expensive than Fargo?
Rome is 0.8% less expensive than Fargo. The overall cost index is 90.2 vs 90.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rome equals $100K in Fargo?
A $100,000 salary in Fargo has the same purchasing power as $99,219 in Rome. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fargo and Rome?
Rents in Fargo are indexed at 81.1 while Rome is at 60.3 (national average = 100). Fargo 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.