Overall
- Huntsville
- 93.1
- Yuma
- 92.7
Diff -0.4 RPP
Huntsville vs Yuma
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Yuma is 0.4% less expensive than Huntsville.
0.4% less expensive
Yuma, AZ is 0.4% less expensive than Huntsville, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 93.1). A $100,000 salary in Huntsville buys about the same as $99,607 in Yuma; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.1 (Huntsville) vs 92.7 (Yuma)
- $100k in Huntsville ≈ $99,607 purchasing power in Yuma
- Rents drives the gap (-4.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:AZ 93.1→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × AZ
- 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.
Huntsville
93.1
Cost Index
Yuma
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Huntsville, AL and Yuma, AZ 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Yuma is 4.2 points lower. But services 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 Huntsville corresponds to $99,607 in Yuma.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Huntsville
- 96.4
- Yuma
- 96.2
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
- Huntsville
- 83.9
- Yuma
- 87.8
Diff +3.9 RPP
Rents
- Huntsville
- 77.9
- Yuma
- 73.8
Diff -4.2 RPP
| Category | Huntsville | Yuma | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.1 | 92.7 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.2 | -0.2 |
| Services | 83.9 | 87.8 | +3.9 |
| Rents | 77.9 | 73.8 | -4.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Huntsville 93.1
Yuma 92.7
Goods
Huntsville 96.4
Yuma 96.2
Services
Huntsville 83.9
Yuma 87.8
Rents
Huntsville 77.9
Yuma 73.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Huntsville and Yuma share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.3 to 0.4 RPP points. Huntsville remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 10.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.6 to 4.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Huntsville RPP | Yuma RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.1 | 92.4 | 0.3 points Yuma higher |
| 2012 | 94.0 | 93.8 | 0.2 points Huntsville higher |
| 2016 | 93.6 | 92.7 | 0.9 points Huntsville higher |
| 2020 | 90.7 | 88.7 | 2.0 points Huntsville higher |
| 2024 | 93.1 | 92.7 | 0.4 points Huntsville 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 Huntsville would need to be in Yuma for the same purchasing power:
| In Huntsville | In Yuma | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,803 | $-197 |
| $75,000 | $74,705 | $-295 |
| $100,000 | $99,607 | $-393 |
| $150,000 | $149,410 | $-590 |
$ in Huntsville = in Yuma
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.1 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yuma more expensive than Huntsville?
Yuma is 0.4% less expensive than Huntsville. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 93.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Yuma equals $100K in Huntsville?
A $100,000 salary in Huntsville has the same purchasing power as $99,607 in Yuma. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Huntsville and Yuma?
Rents in Huntsville are indexed at 77.9 while Yuma is at 73.8 (national average = 100). Huntsville 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.