Overall
- Huntington-Ashland
- 88.4
- Decatur
- 88.4
Diff 0.0 RPP
Huntington-Ashland vs Decatur
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Decatur is 0% equally expensive than Huntington-Ashland.
0% equally expensive
Decatur, IL is 0% equally expensive than Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.4 vs 88.4). A $100,000 salary in Huntington-Ashland buys about the same as $100,000 in Decatur; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.4 (Huntington-Ashland) vs 88.4 (Decatur)
- $100k in Huntington-Ashland ≈ $100,000 purchasing power in Decatur
- Rents drives the gap (+4.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WV:IL 88.4→88.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WV × IL
- RENT-LED Rent-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.
Huntington-Ashland
88.4
Cost Index
Decatur
88.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH and Decatur, IL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents leads the difference, with Decatur 4.9 points higher than Huntington-Ashland. 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.
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 Huntington-Ashland corresponds to $100,000 in Decatur.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Huntington-Ashland
- 96.3
- Decatur
- 93.6
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
- Huntington-Ashland
- 87.9
- Decatur
- 91.1
Diff +3.2 RPP
Rents
- Huntington-Ashland
- 51.3
- Decatur
- 56.2
Diff +4.9 RPP
| Category | Huntington-Ashland | Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.4 | 88.4 | 0.0 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 93.6 | -2.7 |
| Services | 87.9 | 91.1 | +3.2 |
| Rents | 51.3 | 56.2 | +4.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Huntington-Ashland 88.4
Decatur 88.4
Goods
Huntington-Ashland 96.3
Decatur 93.6
Services
Huntington-Ashland 87.9
Decatur 91.1
Rents
Huntington-Ashland 51.3
Decatur 56.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Huntington-Ashland would need to be in Decatur for the same purchasing power:
| In Huntington-Ashland | In Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,000 | $0 |
| $75,000 | $75,000 | $0 |
| $100,000 | $100,000 | $0 |
| $150,000 | $150,000 | $0 |
$ in Huntington-Ashland = in Decatur
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.4 → 88.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Decatur more expensive than Huntington-Ashland?
Decatur is 0% equally expensive than Huntington-Ashland. The overall cost index is 88.4 vs 88.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Decatur equals $100K in Huntington-Ashland?
A $100,000 salary in Huntington-Ashland has the same purchasing power as $100,000 in Decatur. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Huntington-Ashland and Decatur?
Rents in Huntington-Ashland are indexed at 51.3 while Decatur is at 56.2 (national average = 100). Decatur 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.