Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff +0.6 RPP
Lancaster vs Atlantic City-Hammonton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Atlantic City-Hammonton is 0.6% more expensive than Lancaster.
0.6% more expensive
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ is 0.6% more expensive than Lancaster, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.9 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Lancaster buys about the same as $100,611 in Atlantic City-Hammonton; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Lancaster) vs 98.9 (Atlantic City-Hammonton)
- $100k in Lancaster ≈ $100,611 purchasing power in Atlantic City-Hammonton
- Rents drives the gap (+4.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:NJ 98.3→98.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × NJ
- 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.
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
Atlantic City-Hammonton
98.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lancaster, PA and Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Atlantic City-Hammonton is 4.9 points higher. 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 Lancaster corresponds to $100,611 in Atlantic City-Hammonton.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff -0.9 RPP
Services
- Lancaster
- 107.3
- Atlantic City-Hammonton
- 109.2
Diff +1.9 RPP
Rents
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff +4.9 RPP
| Category | Lancaster | Atlantic City-Hammonton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 98.9 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 99.8 | -0.9 |
| Services | 107.3 | 109.2 | +1.9 |
| Rents | 93.8 | 98.7 | +4.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lancaster 98.3
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.9
Goods
Lancaster 100.7
Atlantic City-Hammonton 99.8
Services
Lancaster 107.3
Atlantic City-Hammonton 109.2
Rents
Lancaster 93.8
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lancaster would need to be in Atlantic City-Hammonton for the same purchasing power:
| In Lancaster | In Atlantic City-Hammonton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,305 | +$305 |
| $75,000 | $75,458 | +$458 |
| $100,000 | $100,611 | +$611 |
| $150,000 | $150,916 | +$916 |
$ in Lancaster = in Atlantic City-Hammonton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 98.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Atlantic City-Hammonton more expensive than Lancaster?
Atlantic City-Hammonton is 0.6% more expensive than Lancaster. The overall cost index is 98.9 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton equals $100K in Lancaster?
A $100,000 salary in Lancaster has the same purchasing power as $100,611 in Atlantic City-Hammonton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lancaster and Atlantic City-Hammonton?
Rents in Lancaster are indexed at 93.8 while Atlantic City-Hammonton is at 98.7 (national average = 100). Atlantic City-Hammonton 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.