Overall
- Gadsden
- 85.7
Diff +0.2 RPP
Gadsden vs McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 0.3% more expensive than Gadsden.
0.3% more expensive
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX is 0.3% more expensive than Gadsden, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 85.7). A $100,000 salary in Gadsden buys about the same as $100,283 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.7 (Gadsden) vs 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission)
- $100k in Gadsden ≈ $100,283 purchasing power in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
- Services drives the gap (-5.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:TX 85.7→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × TX
- 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.
Gadsden
85.7
Cost Index
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Gadsden, AL and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 5.5 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Gadsden to $100,283 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Gadsden
- 96.4
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
- Gadsden
- 86.7
Diff -5.5 RPP
Rents
- Gadsden
- 53.7
Diff +2.2 RPP
| Category | Gadsden | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.7 | 85.9 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.8 | -2.6 |
| Services | 86.7 | 81.2 | -5.5 |
| Rents | 53.7 | 55.9 | +2.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Gadsden 85.7
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Goods
Gadsden 96.4
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Services
Gadsden 86.7
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Rents
Gadsden 53.7
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Gadsden would need to be in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission for the same purchasing power:
| In Gadsden | In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,141 | +$141 |
| $75,000 | $75,212 | +$212 |
| $100,000 | $100,283 | +$283 |
| $150,000 | $150,424 | +$424 |
$ in Gadsden = in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.7 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission more expensive than Gadsden?
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 0.3% more expensive than Gadsden. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 85.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission equals $100K in Gadsden?
A $100,000 salary in Gadsden has the same purchasing power as $100,283 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Gadsden and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Rents in Gadsden are indexed at 53.7 while McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is at 55.9 (national average = 100). McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 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.