Overall
- Fayetteville
- 92.0
- Winston-Salem
- 92.0
Diff +0.1 RPP
Fayetteville vs Winston-Salem
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Winston-Salem is 0.1% more expensive than Fayetteville.
0.1% more expensive
Winston-Salem, NC is 0.1% more expensive than Fayetteville, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.0 vs 92.0). A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville buys about the same as $100,071 in Winston-Salem; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.0 (Fayetteville) vs 92.0 (Winston-Salem)
- $100k in Fayetteville ≈ $100,071 purchasing power in Winston-Salem
- Rents drives the gap (-1.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:NC 92.0→92.0
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · NC
- 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
Winston-Salem
92.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fayetteville, NC and Winston-Salem, NC 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: Winston-Salem is 1.7 points lower. But rents 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 Fayetteville corresponds to $100,071 in Winston-Salem.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fayetteville
- 96.6
- Winston-Salem
- 96.6
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Fayetteville
- 87.8
- Winston-Salem
- 88.4
Diff +0.6 RPP
Rents
- Fayetteville
- 73.1
- Winston-Salem
- 71.4
Diff -1.7 RPP
| Category | Fayetteville | Winston-Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.0 | 92.0 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.6 | 0.0 |
| Services | 87.8 | 88.4 | +0.6 |
| Rents | 73.1 | 71.4 | -1.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fayetteville 92.0
Winston-Salem 92.0
Goods
Fayetteville 96.6
Winston-Salem 96.6
Services
Fayetteville 87.8
Winston-Salem 88.4
Rents
Fayetteville 73.1
Winston-Salem 71.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fayetteville would need to be in Winston-Salem for the same purchasing power:
| In Fayetteville | In Winston-Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,035 | +$35 |
| $75,000 | $75,053 | +$53 |
| $100,000 | $100,071 | +$71 |
| $150,000 | $150,106 | +$106 |
$ in Fayetteville = in Winston-Salem
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.0 → 92.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Winston-Salem more expensive than Fayetteville?
Winston-Salem is 0.1% more expensive than Fayetteville. The overall cost index is 92.0 vs 92.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Winston-Salem equals $100K in Fayetteville?
A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville has the same purchasing power as $100,071 in Winston-Salem. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fayetteville and Winston-Salem?
Rents in Fayetteville are indexed at 73.1 while Winston-Salem is at 71.4 (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.