Overall
- Huntington-Ashland
- 88.4
- Owensboro
- 88.6
Diff +0.2 RPP
Huntington-Ashland vs Owensboro
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Owensboro is 0.2% more expensive than Huntington-Ashland.
0.2% more expensive
Owensboro, KY is 0.2% more expensive than Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.6 vs 88.4). A $100,000 salary in Huntington-Ashland buys about the same as $100,213 in Owensboro; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.4 (Huntington-Ashland) vs 88.6 (Owensboro)
- $100k in Huntington-Ashland ≈ $100,213 purchasing power in Owensboro
- Services drives the gap (-12.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WV:KY 88.4→88.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WV × KY
- 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.
Huntington-Ashland
88.4
Cost Index
Owensboro
88.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH and Owensboro, KY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Owensboro is 12.7 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 Huntington-Ashland to $100,213 in Owensboro, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Huntington-Ashland
- 96.3
- Owensboro
- 96.2
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Huntington-Ashland
- 87.9
- Owensboro
- 75.2
Diff -12.7 RPP
Rents
- Huntington-Ashland
- 51.3
- Owensboro
- 55.7
Diff +4.4 RPP
| Category | Huntington-Ashland | Owensboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.4 | 88.6 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.2 | -0.1 |
| Services | 87.9 | 75.2 | -12.7 |
| Rents | 51.3 | 55.7 | +4.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Huntington-Ashland 88.4
Owensboro 88.6
Goods
Huntington-Ashland 96.3
Owensboro 96.2
Services
Huntington-Ashland 87.9
Owensboro 75.2
Rents
Huntington-Ashland 51.3
Owensboro 55.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Huntington-Ashland would need to be in Owensboro for the same purchasing power:
| In Huntington-Ashland | In Owensboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,106 | +$106 |
| $75,000 | $75,159 | +$159 |
| $100,000 | $100,213 | +$213 |
| $150,000 | $150,319 | +$319 |
$ in Huntington-Ashland = in Owensboro
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.4 → 88.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Owensboro more expensive than Huntington-Ashland?
Owensboro is 0.2% more expensive than Huntington-Ashland. The overall cost index is 88.6 vs 88.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Owensboro equals $100K in Huntington-Ashland?
A $100,000 salary in Huntington-Ashland has the same purchasing power as $100,213 in Owensboro. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Huntington-Ashland and Owensboro?
Rents in Huntington-Ashland are indexed at 51.3 while Owensboro is at 55.7 (national average = 100). Owensboro 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.