Overall
- Burlington
- 93.2
Diff -0.1 RPP
Greenville-Anderson-Greer vs Burlington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Burlington is 0.1% less expensive than Greenville-Anderson-Greer.
0.1% less expensive
Burlington, NC is 0.1% less expensive than Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.2 vs 93.3). A $100,000 salary in Greenville-Anderson-Greer buys about the same as $99,931 in Burlington; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.3 (Greenville-Anderson-Greer) vs 93.2 (Burlington)
- $100k in Greenville-Anderson-Greer ≈ $99,931 purchasing power in Burlington
- Rents drives the gap (+1.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:NC 93.3→93.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × 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.
Greenville-Anderson-Greer
93.3
Cost Index
Burlington
93.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC and Burlington, 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: Burlington is 1.0 points higher. But rents and 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 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 Greenville-Anderson-Greer corresponds to $99,931 in Burlington.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Burlington
- 96.6
Diff +0.3 RPP
Services
- Burlington
- 89.2
Diff +0.5 RPP
Rents
- Burlington
- 77.9
Diff +1.0 RPP
| Category | Greenville-Anderson-Greer | Burlington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.3 | 93.2 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.6 | +0.3 |
| Services | 88.8 | 89.2 | +0.5 |
| Rents | 76.8 | 77.9 | +1.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Greenville-Anderson-Greer 93.3
Burlington 93.2
Goods
Greenville-Anderson-Greer 96.3
Burlington 96.6
Services
Greenville-Anderson-Greer 88.8
Burlington 89.2
Rents
Greenville-Anderson-Greer 76.8
Burlington 77.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Greenville-Anderson-Greer would need to be in Burlington for the same purchasing power:
| In Greenville-Anderson-Greer | In Burlington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,966 | $-34 |
| $75,000 | $74,949 | $-51 |
| $100,000 | $99,931 | $-69 |
| $150,000 | $149,897 | $-103 |
$ in Greenville-Anderson-Greer = in Burlington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.3 → 93.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Burlington more expensive than Greenville-Anderson-Greer?
Burlington is 0.1% less expensive than Greenville-Anderson-Greer. The overall cost index is 93.2 vs 93.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Burlington equals $100K in Greenville-Anderson-Greer?
A $100,000 salary in Greenville-Anderson-Greer has the same purchasing power as $99,931 in Burlington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Greenville-Anderson-Greer and Burlington?
Rents in Greenville-Anderson-Greer are indexed at 76.8 while Burlington is at 77.9 (national average = 100). Burlington 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.