Overall
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 98.7
- Binghamton
- 92.9
Diff -5.8 RPP
Harrisburg-Carlisle vs Binghamton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Binghamton is 5.9% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle.
5.9% less expensive
Binghamton, NY is 5.9% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.9 vs 98.7). A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle buys about the same as $94,134 in Binghamton; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.7 (Harrisburg-Carlisle) vs 92.9 (Binghamton)
- $100k in Harrisburg-Carlisle ≈ $94,134 purchasing power in Binghamton
- Rents drives the gap (-26.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:NY 98.7→92.9
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × NY
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 100.7
- Binghamton
- 99.7
Diff -1.0 RPP
Services
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 108.1
- Binghamton
- 131.6
Diff +23.5 RPP
Rents
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 96.3
- Binghamton
- 69.7
Diff -26.6 RPP
| Category | Harrisburg-Carlisle | Binghamton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.7 | 92.9 | -5.8 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 99.7 | -1.0 |
| Services | 108.1 | 131.6 | +23.5 |
| Rents | 96.3 | 69.7 | -26.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Harrisburg-Carlisle 98.7
Binghamton 92.9
Goods
Harrisburg-Carlisle 100.7
Binghamton 99.7
Services
Harrisburg-Carlisle 108.1
Binghamton 131.6
Rents
Harrisburg-Carlisle 96.3
Binghamton 69.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Binghamton is 26.6 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Binghamton, NY is 5.9% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.8-point overall gap.
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.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Harrisburg-Carlisle corresponds to $94,134 in Binghamton.
Harrisburg-Carlisle
98.7
Cost Index
Binghamton
92.9
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle would need to be in Binghamton for the same purchasing power:
| In Harrisburg-Carlisle | In Binghamton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,067 | $-2,933 |
| $75,000 | $70,600 | $-4,400 |
| $100,000 | $94,134 | $-5,866 |
| $150,000 | $141,201 | $-8,799 |
$ in Harrisburg-Carlisle = in Binghamton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.7 → 92.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Harrisburg-Carlisle and Binghamton share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 1.9 to 5.8 RPP points. Harrisburg-Carlisle remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 16.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (10.4 to 26.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Harrisburg-Carlisle RPP | Binghamton RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.0 | 97.0 | 1.9 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2012 | 97.0 | 94.9 | 2.1 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2016 | 98.2 | 96.1 | 2.1 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2020 | 96.1 | 96.9 | 0.8 points Binghamton higher |
| 2024 | 98.7 | 92.9 | 5.8 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Binghamton more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Binghamton is 5.9% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle. The overall cost index is 92.9 vs 98.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Binghamton equals $100K in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle has the same purchasing power as $94,134 in Binghamton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Harrisburg-Carlisle and Binghamton?
Rents in Harrisburg-Carlisle are indexed at 96.3 while Binghamton is at 69.7 (national average = 100). Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.