Overall
- State College
- 96.8
Diff -1.9 RPP
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs State College
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. State College is 1.9% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
1.9% less expensive
State College, PA is 1.9% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.8 vs 98.6). A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands buys about the same as $98,107 in State College; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands) vs 96.8 (State College)
- $100k in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ≈ $98,107 purchasing power in State College
- Rents drives the gap (-18.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:PA 98.6→96.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × PA
- 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.
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
State College
96.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX and State College, PA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.9 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: State College is 18.8 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 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands corresponds to $98,107 in State College.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- State College
- 100.7
Diff +0.0 RPP
Services
- State College
- 109.5
Diff +14.2 RPP
Rents
- State College
- 85.7
Diff -18.8 RPP
| Category | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | State College | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.6 | 96.8 | -1.9 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 100.7 | +0.0 |
| Services | 95.3 | 109.5 | +14.2 |
| Rents | 104.5 | 85.7 | -18.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
State College 96.8
Goods
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
State College 100.7
Services
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
State College 109.5
Rents
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
State College 85.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands and State College share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.3 to 1.9 RPP points. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 6.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (12.2 to 18.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands RPP | State College RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.4 | 99.2 | 0.3 points Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands higher |
| 2012 | 100.0 | 96.7 | 3.3 points Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands higher |
| 2016 | 102.4 | 101.4 | 1.0 points Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands higher |
| 2020 | 100.0 | 98.0 | 1.9 points Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands higher |
| 2024 | 98.6 | 96.8 | 1.9 points Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands would need to be in State College for the same purchasing power:
| In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | In State College | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,054 | $-946 |
| $75,000 | $73,580 | $-1,420 |
| $100,000 | $98,107 | $-1,893 |
| $150,000 | $147,161 | $-2,839 |
$ in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands = in State College
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.6 → 96.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is State College more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
State College is 1.9% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. The overall cost index is 96.8 vs 98.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in State College equals $100K in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has the same purchasing power as $98,107 in State College. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands and State College?
Rents in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands are indexed at 104.5 while State College is at 85.7 (national average = 100). Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.