Overall
- Fayetteville
- 92.0
Diff -0.1 RPP
Fayetteville vs Augusta-Richmond County
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Augusta-Richmond County is 0.1% less expensive than Fayetteville.
0.1% less expensive
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC is 0.1% less expensive than Fayetteville, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.9 vs 92.0). A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville buys about the same as $99,918 in Augusta-Richmond County; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.0 (Fayetteville) vs 91.9 (Augusta-Richmond County)
- $100k in Fayetteville ≈ $99,918 purchasing power in Augusta-Richmond County
- Rents drives the gap (-2.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:GA 92.0→91.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × 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.
Fayetteville
92.0
Cost Index
Augusta-Richmond County
91.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fayetteville, NC and Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Augusta-Richmond County is 2.5 points lower. But services 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 Fayetteville corresponds to $99,918 in Augusta-Richmond County.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fayetteville
- 96.6
Diff -0.3 RPP
Services
- Fayetteville
- 87.8
Diff +1.7 RPP
Rents
- Fayetteville
- 73.1
Diff -2.5 RPP
| Category | Fayetteville | Augusta-Richmond County | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.0 | 91.9 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.3 | -0.3 |
| Services | 87.8 | 89.5 | +1.7 |
| Rents | 73.1 | 70.6 | -2.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fayetteville 92.0
Augusta-Richmond County 91.9
Goods
Fayetteville 96.6
Augusta-Richmond County 96.3
Services
Fayetteville 87.8
Augusta-Richmond County 89.5
Rents
Fayetteville 73.1
Augusta-Richmond County 70.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fayetteville would need to be in Augusta-Richmond County for the same purchasing power:
| In Fayetteville | In Augusta-Richmond County | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,959 | $-41 |
| $75,000 | $74,939 | $-61 |
| $100,000 | $99,918 | $-82 |
| $150,000 | $149,878 | $-122 |
$ in Fayetteville = in Augusta-Richmond County
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.0 → 91.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Augusta-Richmond County more expensive than Fayetteville?
Augusta-Richmond County is 0.1% less expensive than Fayetteville. The overall cost index is 91.9 vs 92.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Augusta-Richmond County equals $100K in Fayetteville?
A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville has the same purchasing power as $99,918 in Augusta-Richmond County. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fayetteville and Augusta-Richmond County?
Rents in Fayetteville are indexed at 73.1 while Augusta-Richmond County is at 70.6 (national average = 100). Fayetteville 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.