Overall
- Johnson City
- 87.9
- Auburn-Opelika
- 87.9
Diff +0.0 RPP
Johnson City vs Auburn-Opelika
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Auburn-Opelika is 0% more expensive than Johnson City.
0% more expensive
Auburn-Opelika, AL is 0% more expensive than Johnson City, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.9 vs 87.9). A $100,000 salary in Johnson City buys about the same as $100,006 in Auburn-Opelika; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.9 (Johnson City) vs 87.9 (Auburn-Opelika)
- $100k in Johnson City ≈ $100,006 purchasing power in Auburn-Opelika
- Services drives the gap (+12.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:AL 87.9→87.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TN × AL
- 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.
Johnson City
87.9
Cost Index
Auburn-Opelika
87.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Johnson City, TN and Auburn-Opelika, AL 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Auburn-Opelika is 12.0 points higher. But rents 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 Johnson City to $100,006 in Auburn-Opelika, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Johnson City
- 96.2
- Auburn-Opelika
- 96.4
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Johnson City
- 71.9
- Auburn-Opelika
- 83.9
Diff +12.0 RPP
Rents
- Johnson City
- 63.2
- Auburn-Opelika
- 62.1
Diff -1.1 RPP
| Category | Johnson City | Auburn-Opelika | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.9 | 87.9 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.4 | +0.2 |
| Services | 71.9 | 83.9 | +12.0 |
| Rents | 63.2 | 62.1 | -1.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Johnson City 87.9
Auburn-Opelika 87.9
Goods
Johnson City 96.2
Auburn-Opelika 96.4
Services
Johnson City 71.9
Auburn-Opelika 83.9
Rents
Johnson City 63.2
Auburn-Opelika 62.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Johnson City would need to be in Auburn-Opelika for the same purchasing power:
| In Johnson City | In Auburn-Opelika | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,003 | +$3 |
| $75,000 | $75,004 | +$4 |
| $100,000 | $100,006 | +$6 |
| $150,000 | $150,009 | +$9 |
$ in Johnson City = in Auburn-Opelika
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.9 → 87.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Auburn-Opelika more expensive than Johnson City?
Auburn-Opelika is 0% more expensive than Johnson City. The overall cost index is 87.9 vs 87.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Auburn-Opelika equals $100K in Johnson City?
A $100,000 salary in Johnson City has the same purchasing power as $100,006 in Auburn-Opelika. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Johnson City and Auburn-Opelika?
Rents in Johnson City are indexed at 63.2 while Auburn-Opelika is at 62.1 (national average = 100). Johnson City 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.