Overall
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 98.7
- Williamsport
- 92.3
Diff -6.3 RPP
Harrisburg-Carlisle vs Williamsport
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Williamsport is 6.4% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle.
6.4% less expensive
Williamsport, PA is 6.4% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.3 vs 98.7). A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle buys about the same as $93,614 in Williamsport; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.7 (Harrisburg-Carlisle) vs 92.3 (Williamsport)
- $100k in Harrisburg-Carlisle ≈ $93,614 purchasing power in Williamsport
- Rents drives the gap (-31.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:PA 98.7→92.3
TIER-NEAR · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- SAME-STATE Same state · PA
- 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
- Williamsport
- 100.7
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 108.1
- Williamsport
- 107.5
Diff -0.6 RPP
Rents
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 96.3
- Williamsport
- 64.4
Diff -31.9 RPP
| Category | Harrisburg-Carlisle | Williamsport | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.7 | 92.3 | -6.3 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 100.7 | 0.0 |
| Services | 108.1 | 107.5 | -0.6 |
| Rents | 96.3 | 64.4 | -31.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Harrisburg-Carlisle 98.7
Williamsport 92.3
Goods
Harrisburg-Carlisle 100.7
Williamsport 100.7
Services
Harrisburg-Carlisle 108.1
Williamsport 107.5
Rents
Harrisburg-Carlisle 96.3
Williamsport 64.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Williamsport is 31.9 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Williamsport, PA is 6.4% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.3-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 $93,614 in Williamsport.
Harrisburg-Carlisle
98.7
Cost Index
Williamsport
92.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle would need to be in Williamsport for the same purchasing power:
| In Harrisburg-Carlisle | In Williamsport | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,807 | $-3,193 |
| $75,000 | $70,210 | $-4,790 |
| $100,000 | $93,614 | $-6,386 |
| $150,000 | $140,421 | $-9,579 |
$ in Harrisburg-Carlisle = in Williamsport
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.7 → 92.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Harrisburg-Carlisle and Williamsport share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 4.0 to 6.3 RPP points. Harrisburg-Carlisle remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 15.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (16.4 to 31.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Harrisburg-Carlisle RPP | Williamsport RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.0 | 95.0 | 4.0 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2012 | 97.0 | 92.9 | 4.1 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2016 | 98.2 | 95.4 | 2.8 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2020 | 96.1 | 93.6 | 2.5 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2024 | 98.7 | 92.3 | 6.3 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 Williamsport more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Williamsport is 6.4% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle. The overall cost index is 92.3 vs 98.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Williamsport equals $100K in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle has the same purchasing power as $93,614 in Williamsport. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Harrisburg-Carlisle and Williamsport?
Rents in Harrisburg-Carlisle are indexed at 96.3 while Williamsport is at 64.4 (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.