Overall
- Florence
- 86.8
- Cape Girardeau
- 86.1
Diff -0.7 RPP
Florence vs Cape Girardeau
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Cape Girardeau is 0.8% less expensive than Florence.
0.8% less expensive
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL is 0.8% less expensive than Florence, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.1 vs 86.8). A $100,000 salary in Florence buys about the same as $99,198 in Cape Girardeau; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 86.8 (Florence) vs 86.1 (Cape Girardeau)
- $100k in Florence ≈ $99,198 purchasing power in Cape Girardeau
- Rents drives the gap (+4.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:MO 86.8→86.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × MO
- 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.
Florence
86.8
Cost Index
Cape Girardeau
86.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Florence, SC and Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 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: Cape Girardeau is 4.0 points higher. But rents 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 Florence corresponds to $99,198 in Cape Girardeau.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Florence
- 96.3
- Cape Girardeau
- 94.2
Diff -2.1 RPP
Services
- Florence
- 87.7
- Cape Girardeau
- 85.6
Diff -2.1 RPP
Rents
- Florence
- 52.4
- Cape Girardeau
- 56.4
Diff +4.0 RPP
| Category | Florence | Cape Girardeau | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 86.8 | 86.1 | -0.7 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 94.2 | -2.1 |
| Services | 87.7 | 85.6 | -2.1 |
| Rents | 52.4 | 56.4 | +4.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Florence 86.8
Cape Girardeau 86.1
Goods
Florence 96.3
Cape Girardeau 94.2
Services
Florence 87.7
Cape Girardeau 85.6
Rents
Florence 52.4
Cape Girardeau 56.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Florence would need to be in Cape Girardeau for the same purchasing power:
| In Florence | In Cape Girardeau | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,599 | $-401 |
| $75,000 | $74,398 | $-602 |
| $100,000 | $99,198 | $-802 |
| $150,000 | $148,797 | $-1,203 |
$ in Florence = in Cape Girardeau
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (86.8 → 86.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cape Girardeau more expensive than Florence?
Cape Girardeau is 0.8% less expensive than Florence. The overall cost index is 86.1 vs 86.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Cape Girardeau equals $100K in Florence?
A $100,000 salary in Florence has the same purchasing power as $99,198 in Cape Girardeau. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Florence and Cape Girardeau?
Rents in Florence are indexed at 52.4 while Cape Girardeau is at 56.4 (national average = 100). Cape Girardeau 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.