Overall
- Johnson City
- 87.9
- Rocky Mount
- 88.0
Diff +0.1 RPP
Johnson City vs Rocky Mount
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rocky Mount is 0.1% more expensive than Johnson City.
0.1% more expensive
Rocky Mount, NC is 0.1% more expensive than Johnson City, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 87.9). A $100,000 salary in Johnson City buys about the same as $100,096 in Rocky Mount; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.9 (Johnson City) vs 88.0 (Rocky Mount)
- $100k in Johnson City ≈ $100,096 purchasing power in Rocky Mount
- Services drives the gap (+16.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:NC 87.9→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TN × NC
- 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
Rocky Mount
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Johnson City, TN and Rocky Mount, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Rocky Mount is 16.4 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 $100,096 in Rocky Mount, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Johnson City
- 96.2
- Rocky Mount
- 96.6
Diff +0.4 RPP
Services
- Johnson City
- 71.9
- Rocky Mount
- 88.4
Diff +16.4 RPP
Rents
- Johnson City
- 63.2
- Rocky Mount
- 56.1
Diff -7.1 RPP
| Category | Johnson City | Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.9 | 88.0 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.6 | +0.4 |
| Services | 71.9 | 88.4 | +16.4 |
| Rents | 63.2 | 56.1 | -7.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Johnson City 87.9
Rocky Mount 88.0
Goods
Johnson City 96.2
Rocky Mount 96.6
Services
Johnson City 71.9
Rocky Mount 88.4
Rents
Johnson City 63.2
Rocky Mount 56.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Johnson City would need to be in Rocky Mount for the same purchasing power:
| In Johnson City | In Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,048 | +$48 |
| $75,000 | $75,072 | +$72 |
| $100,000 | $100,096 | +$96 |
| $150,000 | $150,143 | +$143 |
$ in Johnson City = in Rocky Mount
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.9 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rocky Mount more expensive than Johnson City?
Rocky Mount is 0.1% more expensive than Johnson City. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 87.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rocky Mount equals $100K in Johnson City?
A $100,000 salary in Johnson City has the same purchasing power as $100,096 in Rocky Mount. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Johnson City and Rocky Mount?
Rents in Johnson City are indexed at 63.2 while Rocky Mount is at 56.1 (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.