Overall
- Fairbanks-College
- 103.2
Diff -6.2 RPP
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh vs Fairbanks-College
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fairbanks-College is 5.7% less expensive than Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh.
5.7% less expensive
Fairbanks-College, AK is 5.7% less expensive than Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.2 vs 109.4). A $100,000 salary in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh buys about the same as $94,321 in Fairbanks-College; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 109.4 (Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh) vs 103.2 (Fairbanks-College)
- $100k in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh ≈ $94,321 purchasing power in Fairbanks-College
- Rents drives the gap (-23.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:AK 109.4→103.2
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE NY × AK
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh would need to be in Fairbanks-College for the same purchasing power:
| In Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh | In Fairbanks-College | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,161 | $-2,839 |
| $75,000 | $70,741 | $-4,259 |
| $100,000 | $94,321 | $-5,679 |
| $150,000 | $141,482 | $-8,518 |
$ in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh = in Fairbanks-College
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (109.4 → 103.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Fairbanks-College, AK is 5.7% less expensive than Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.2-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Fairbanks-College 23.2 points lower than Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh. 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.
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 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh corresponds to $94,321 in Fairbanks-College.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fairbanks-College
- 107.3
Diff -2.9 RPP
Services
- Fairbanks-College
- 119.8
Diff -17.0 RPP
Rents
- Fairbanks-College
- 92.6
Diff -23.2 RPP
| Category | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh | Fairbanks-College | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 109.4 | 103.2 | -6.2 |
| Goods | 110.3 | 107.3 | -2.9 |
| Services | 136.8 | 119.8 | -17.0 |
| Rents | 115.8 | 92.6 | -23.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 109.4
Fairbanks-College 103.2
Goods
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 110.3
Fairbanks-College 107.3
Services
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 136.8
Fairbanks-College 119.8
Rents
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 115.8
Fairbanks-College 92.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh
109.4
Cost Index
Fairbanks-College
103.2
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh and Fairbanks-College share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 104.7 to 6.2 RPP points. Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 143.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (120.5 to 23.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh RPP | Fairbanks-College RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.0 | 104.7 | 104.7 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2012 | 0.0 | 97.9 | 97.9 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2016 | 109.8 | 100.4 | 9.3 points Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh higher |
| 2020 | 109.7 | 99.4 | 10.3 points Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh higher |
| 2024 | 109.4 | 103.2 | 6.2 points Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fairbanks-College more expensive than Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh?
Fairbanks-College is 5.7% less expensive than Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh. The overall cost index is 103.2 vs 109.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fairbanks-College equals $100K in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh?
A $100,000 salary in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh has the same purchasing power as $94,321 in Fairbanks-College. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh and Fairbanks-College?
Rents in Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh are indexed at 115.8 while Fairbanks-College is at 92.6 (national average = 100). Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh 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.