Overall
- Pittsfield
- 95.1
Diff -0.4 RPP
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood vs Pittsfield
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Pittsfield is 0.5% less expensive than Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood.
0.5% less expensive
Pittsfield, MA is 0.5% less expensive than Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.1 vs 95.5). A $100,000 salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood buys about the same as $99,539 in Pittsfield; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 95.5 (Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood) vs 95.1 (Pittsfield)
- $100k in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood ≈ $99,539 purchasing power in Pittsfield
- Services drives the gap (+59.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MI:MA 95.5→95.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MI × MA
- 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.
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
95.5
Cost Index
Pittsfield
95.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI and Pittsfield, MA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Pittsfield is 59.9 points higher. 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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood to $99,539 in Pittsfield, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Pittsfield
- 97.0
Diff +3.3 RPP
Services
- Pittsfield
- 153.7
Diff +59.9 RPP
Rents
- Pittsfield
- 73.5
Diff -13.1 RPP
| Category | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood | Pittsfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.5 | 95.1 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 97.0 | +3.3 |
| Services | 93.8 | 153.7 | +59.9 |
| Rents | 86.6 | 73.5 | -13.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 95.5
Pittsfield 95.1
Goods
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 93.7
Pittsfield 97.0
Services
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 93.8
Pittsfield 153.7
Rents
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 86.6
Pittsfield 73.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood would need to be in Pittsfield for the same purchasing power:
| In Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood | In Pittsfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,770 | $-230 |
| $75,000 | $74,655 | $-345 |
| $100,000 | $99,539 | $-461 |
| $150,000 | $149,309 | $-691 |
$ in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood = in Pittsfield
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.5 → 95.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pittsfield more expensive than Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
Pittsfield is 0.5% less expensive than Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood. The overall cost index is 95.1 vs 95.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Pittsfield equals $100K in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
A $100,000 salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood has the same purchasing power as $99,539 in Pittsfield. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood and Pittsfield?
Rents in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood are indexed at 86.6 while Pittsfield is at 73.5 (national average = 100). Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 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.