Overall
Diff -0.4 RPP
Kingston vs Flagstaff
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Flagstaff is 0.4% less expensive than Kingston.
0.4% less expensive
Flagstaff, AZ is 0.4% less expensive than Kingston, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.3 vs 100.7). A $100,000 salary in Kingston buys about the same as $99,619 in Flagstaff; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.7 (Kingston) vs 100.3 (Flagstaff)
- $100k in Kingston ≈ $99,619 purchasing power in Flagstaff
- Services drives the gap (-39.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:AZ 100.7→100.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × AZ
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Kingston
100.7
Cost Index
Flagstaff
100.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Kingston, NY and Flagstaff, 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.
Services leads the difference, with Flagstaff 39.8 points lower than Kingston. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Kingston to $99,619 in Flagstaff, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -3.5 RPP
Services
Diff -39.8 RPP
Rents
Diff -1.2 RPP
| Category | Kingston | Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.7 | 100.3 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 96.2 | -3.5 |
| Services | 133.6 | 93.8 | -39.8 |
| Rents | 110.2 | 109.0 | -1.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kingston 100.7
Flagstaff 100.3
Goods
Kingston 99.7
Flagstaff 96.2
Services
Kingston 133.6
Flagstaff 93.8
Rents
Kingston 110.2
Flagstaff 109.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kingston would need to be in Flagstaff for the same purchasing power:
| In Kingston | In Flagstaff | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,809 | $-191 |
| $75,000 | $74,714 | $-286 |
| $100,000 | $99,619 | $-381 |
| $150,000 | $149,428 | $-572 |
$ in Kingston = in Flagstaff
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.7 → 100.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flagstaff more expensive than Kingston?
Flagstaff is 0.4% less expensive than Kingston. The overall cost index is 100.3 vs 100.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Flagstaff equals $100K in Kingston?
A $100,000 salary in Kingston has the same purchasing power as $99,619 in Flagstaff. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kingston and Flagstaff?
Rents in Kingston are indexed at 110.2 while Flagstaff is at 109.0 (national average = 100). Kingston 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.