Overall
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 98.7
- Medford
- 101.4
Diff +2.8 RPP
Harrisburg-Carlisle vs Medford
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Medford is 2.8% more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle.
2.8% more expensive
Medford, OR is 2.8% more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.4 vs 98.7). A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle buys about the same as $102,821 in Medford; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.7 (Harrisburg-Carlisle) vs 101.4 (Medford)
- $100k in Harrisburg-Carlisle ≈ $102,821 purchasing power in Medford
- Services drives the gap (-5.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:OR 98.7→101.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × OR
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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
- Medford
- 105.3
Diff +4.6 RPP
Services
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 108.1
- Medford
- 102.3
Diff -5.8 RPP
Rents
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 96.3
- Medford
- 97.7
Diff +1.4 RPP
| Category | Harrisburg-Carlisle | Medford | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.7 | 101.4 | +2.8 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 105.3 | +4.6 |
| Services | 108.1 | 102.3 | -5.8 |
| Rents | 96.3 | 97.7 | +1.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Harrisburg-Carlisle 98.7
Medford 101.4
Goods
Harrisburg-Carlisle 100.7
Medford 105.3
Services
Harrisburg-Carlisle 108.1
Medford 102.3
Rents
Harrisburg-Carlisle 96.3
Medford 97.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Medford is 5.8 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Medford, OR is 2.8% more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.8-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Medford is above 100 while Harrisburg-Carlisle is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Harrisburg-Carlisle to $102,821 in Medford, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Harrisburg-Carlisle
98.7
Cost Index
Medford
101.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle would need to be in Medford for the same purchasing power:
| In Harrisburg-Carlisle | In Medford | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,411 | +$1,411 |
| $75,000 | $77,116 | +$2,116 |
| $100,000 | $102,821 | +$2,821 |
| $150,000 | $154,232 | +$4,232 |
$ in Harrisburg-Carlisle = in Medford
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.7 → 101.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Medford more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Medford is 2.8% more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle. The overall cost index is 101.4 vs 98.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Medford equals $100K in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle has the same purchasing power as $102,821 in Medford. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Harrisburg-Carlisle and Medford?
Rents in Harrisburg-Carlisle are indexed at 96.3 while Medford is at 97.7 (national average = 100). Medford 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.