Overall
- Janesville-Beloit
- 93.7
- Athens-Clarke County
- 93.3
Diff -0.4 RPP
Janesville-Beloit vs Athens-Clarke County
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Athens-Clarke County is 0.4% less expensive than Janesville-Beloit.
0.4% less expensive
Athens-Clarke County, GA is 0.4% less expensive than Janesville-Beloit, WI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.3 vs 93.7). A $100,000 salary in Janesville-Beloit buys about the same as $99,616 in Athens-Clarke County; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.7 (Janesville-Beloit) vs 93.3 (Athens-Clarke County)
- $100k in Janesville-Beloit ≈ $99,616 purchasing power in Athens-Clarke County
- Rents drives the gap (-2.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:GA 93.7→93.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × GA
- 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.
Janesville-Beloit
93.7
Cost Index
Athens-Clarke County
93.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Janesville-Beloit, WI and Athens-Clarke County, GA 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: Athens-Clarke County is 2.8 points lower. But 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 Janesville-Beloit corresponds to $99,616 in Athens-Clarke County.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Janesville-Beloit
- 93.8
- Athens-Clarke County
- 96.3
Diff +2.5 RPP
Services
- Janesville-Beloit
- 90.4
- Athens-Clarke County
- 89.3
Diff -1.1 RPP
Rents
- Janesville-Beloit
- 79.6
- Athens-Clarke County
- 76.8
Diff -2.8 RPP
| Category | Janesville-Beloit | Athens-Clarke County | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.7 | 93.3 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.3 | +2.5 |
| Services | 90.4 | 89.3 | -1.1 |
| Rents | 79.6 | 76.8 | -2.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Janesville-Beloit 93.7
Athens-Clarke County 93.3
Goods
Janesville-Beloit 93.8
Athens-Clarke County 96.3
Services
Janesville-Beloit 90.4
Athens-Clarke County 89.3
Rents
Janesville-Beloit 79.6
Athens-Clarke County 76.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Janesville-Beloit and Athens-Clarke County share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.3 to 0.4 RPP points. Janesville-Beloit remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 12.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (9.2 to 2.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Janesville-Beloit RPP | Athens-Clarke County RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.5 | 94.2 | 0.3 points Janesville-Beloit higher |
| 2012 | 95.0 | 93.3 | 1.6 points Janesville-Beloit higher |
| 2016 | 92.8 | 93.7 | 1.0 points Athens-Clarke County higher |
| 2020 | 91.6 | 90.2 | 1.3 points Janesville-Beloit higher |
| 2024 | 93.7 | 93.3 | 0.4 points Janesville-Beloit 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 Janesville-Beloit would need to be in Athens-Clarke County for the same purchasing power:
| In Janesville-Beloit | In Athens-Clarke County | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,808 | $-192 |
| $75,000 | $74,712 | $-288 |
| $100,000 | $99,616 | $-384 |
| $150,000 | $149,424 | $-576 |
$ in Janesville-Beloit = in Athens-Clarke County
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.7 → 93.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Athens-Clarke County more expensive than Janesville-Beloit?
Athens-Clarke County is 0.4% less expensive than Janesville-Beloit. The overall cost index is 93.3 vs 93.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Athens-Clarke County equals $100K in Janesville-Beloit?
A $100,000 salary in Janesville-Beloit has the same purchasing power as $99,616 in Athens-Clarke County. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Janesville-Beloit and Athens-Clarke County?
Rents in Janesville-Beloit are indexed at 79.6 while Athens-Clarke County is at 76.8 (national average = 100). Janesville-Beloit 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.