Overall
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 98.7
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff -2.2 RPP
Harrisburg-Carlisle vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 2.3% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle.
2.3% less expensive
Wilmington, NC is 2.3% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 98.7). A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle buys about the same as $97,742 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.7 (Harrisburg-Carlisle) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Harrisburg-Carlisle ≈ $97,742 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Services drives the gap (-20.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:NC 98.7→96.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × NC
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Wilmington, NC is 2.3% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.2-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Wilmington 20.2 points lower than Harrisburg-Carlisle. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 $97,742 in Wilmington, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Harrisburg-Carlisle and Wilmington share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.7 to 2.2 RPP points. Harrisburg-Carlisle remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (29.5 to 20.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Harrisburg-Carlisle RPP | Wilmington RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.0 | 93.2 | 5.7 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2012 | 97.0 | 95.2 | 1.8 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2016 | 98.2 | 95.1 | 3.0 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2020 | 96.1 | 94.0 | 2.1 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2024 | 98.7 | 96.4 | 2.2 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 100.7
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff -4.1 RPP
Services
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 108.1
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff -20.2 RPP
Rents
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 96.3
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff -3.1 RPP
| Category | Harrisburg-Carlisle | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.7 | 96.4 | -2.2 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 96.6 | -4.1 |
| Services | 108.1 | 87.9 | -20.2 |
| Rents | 96.3 | 93.2 | -3.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Harrisburg-Carlisle 98.7
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Harrisburg-Carlisle 100.7
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Harrisburg-Carlisle 108.1
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Harrisburg-Carlisle 96.3
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle would need to be in Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Harrisburg-Carlisle | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,871 | $-1,129 |
| $75,000 | $73,306 | $-1,694 |
| $100,000 | $97,742 | $-2,258 |
| $150,000 | $146,612 | $-3,388 |
$ in Harrisburg-Carlisle = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.7 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Harrisburg-Carlisle
98.7
Cost Index
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington more expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Wilmington is 2.3% less expensive than Harrisburg-Carlisle. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 98.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Harrisburg-Carlisle?
A $100,000 salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle has the same purchasing power as $97,742 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Harrisburg-Carlisle and Wilmington?
Rents in Harrisburg-Carlisle are indexed at 96.3 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (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.