Overall
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- 102.4
Diff -0.3 RPP
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford vs Mount Vernon-Anacortes
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Mount Vernon-Anacortes is 0.3% less expensive than Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford.
0.3% less expensive
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA is 0.3% less expensive than Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.4 vs 102.7). A $100,000 salary in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford buys about the same as $99,705 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 102.7 (Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford) vs 102.4 (Mount Vernon-Anacortes)
- $100k in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford ≈ $99,705 purchasing power in Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- Services drives the gap (-48.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CT:WA 102.7→102.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CT × WA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford
102.7
Cost Index
Mount Vernon-Anacortes
102.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT and Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Mount Vernon-Anacortes is 48.8 points lower. But 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford to $99,705 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- 105.0
Diff +7.7 RPP
Services
Diff -48.8 RPP
Rents
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- 108.2
Diff -2.1 RPP
| Category | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford | Mount Vernon-Anacortes | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 102.7 | 102.4 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 97.3 | 105.0 | +7.7 |
| Services | 144.9 | 96.0 | -48.8 |
| Rents | 110.2 | 108.2 | -2.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 102.7
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 102.4
Goods
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 97.3
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 105.0
Services
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 144.9
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 96.0
Rents
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 110.2
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 108.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford and Mount Vernon-Anacortes share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.9 to 0.3 RPP points. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 33.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (81.8 to 48.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford RPP | Mount Vernon-Anacortes RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 104.8 | 102.9 | 1.9 points Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford higher |
| 2012 | 102.8 | 98.7 | 4.1 points Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford higher |
| 2016 | 102.9 | 101.4 | 1.5 points Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford higher |
| 2020 | 104.0 | 102.1 | 1.9 points Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford higher |
| 2024 | 102.7 | 102.4 | 0.3 points Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford would need to be in Mount Vernon-Anacortes for the same purchasing power:
| In Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford | In Mount Vernon-Anacortes | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,853 | $-147 |
| $75,000 | $74,779 | $-221 |
| $100,000 | $99,705 | $-295 |
| $150,000 | $149,558 | $-442 |
$ in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford = in Mount Vernon-Anacortes
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (102.7 → 102.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mount Vernon-Anacortes more expensive than Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford?
Mount Vernon-Anacortes is 0.3% less expensive than Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford. The overall cost index is 102.4 vs 102.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Mount Vernon-Anacortes equals $100K in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford?
A $100,000 salary in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford has the same purchasing power as $99,705 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford and Mount Vernon-Anacortes?
Rents in Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford are indexed at 110.2 while Mount Vernon-Anacortes is at 108.2 (national average = 100). Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 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.