Overall
- Pocatello
- 88.9
Diff +0.4 RPP
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton vs Pocatello
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Pocatello is 0.5% more expensive than Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton.
0.5% more expensive
Pocatello, ID is 0.5% more expensive than Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.9 vs 88.5). A $100,000 salary in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton buys about the same as $100,475 in Pocatello; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.5 (Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton) vs 88.9 (Pocatello)
- $100k in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton ≈ $100,475 purchasing power in Pocatello
- Services drives the gap (-18.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:ID 88.5→88.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × ID
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton
88.5
Cost Index
Pocatello
88.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC and Pocatello, ID are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Pocatello is 18.0 points lower. But services and 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 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.
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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton to $100,475 in Pocatello, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Pocatello
- 96.2
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Pocatello
- 69.8
Diff -18.0 RPP
Rents
- Pocatello
- 66.4
Diff +6.8 RPP
| Category | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton | Pocatello | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.5 | 88.9 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.2 | -0.4 |
| Services | 87.8 | 69.8 | -18.0 |
| Rents | 59.6 | 66.4 | +6.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 88.5
Pocatello 88.9
Goods
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 96.6
Pocatello 96.2
Services
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 87.8
Pocatello 69.8
Rents
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 59.6
Pocatello 66.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton would need to be in Pocatello for the same purchasing power:
| In Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton | In Pocatello | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,237 | +$237 |
| $75,000 | $75,356 | +$356 |
| $100,000 | $100,475 | +$475 |
| $150,000 | $150,712 | +$712 |
$ in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton = in Pocatello
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.5 → 88.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pocatello more expensive than Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton?
Pocatello is 0.5% more expensive than Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton. The overall cost index is 88.9 vs 88.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Pocatello equals $100K in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton?
A $100,000 salary in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton has the same purchasing power as $100,475 in Pocatello. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton and Pocatello?
Rents in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton are indexed at 59.6 while Pocatello is at 66.4 (national average = 100). Pocatello 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.