Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
Diff +0.1 RPP
Lancaster vs Barnstable Town
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Barnstable Town is 0.1% more expensive than Lancaster.
0.1% more expensive
Barnstable Town, MA is 0.1% more expensive than Lancaster, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Lancaster buys about the same as $100,096 in Barnstable Town; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Lancaster) vs 98.4 (Barnstable Town)
- $100k in Lancaster ≈ $100,096 purchasing power in Barnstable Town
- Services drives the gap (+51.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:MA 98.3→98.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × MA
- 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
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lancaster, PA and Barnstable Town, MA 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: Barnstable Town is 51.2 points higher. But rents and 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Lancaster to $100,096 in Barnstable Town, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
Diff -3.7 RPP
Services
- Lancaster
- 107.3
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
Diff +51.2 RPP
Rents
- Lancaster
- 93.8
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
Diff -3.8 RPP
| Category | Lancaster | Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 98.4 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 97.0 | -3.7 |
| Services | 107.3 | 158.4 | +51.2 |
| Rents | 93.8 | 90.0 | -3.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lancaster 98.3
Barnstable Town 98.4
Goods
Lancaster 100.7
Barnstable Town 97.0
Services
Lancaster 107.3
Barnstable Town 158.4
Rents
Lancaster 93.8
Barnstable Town 90.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lancaster would need to be in Barnstable Town for the same purchasing power:
| In Lancaster | In Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,048 | +$48 |
| $75,000 | $75,072 | +$72 |
| $100,000 | $100,096 | +$96 |
| $150,000 | $150,144 | +$144 |
$ in Lancaster = in Barnstable Town
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barnstable Town more expensive than Lancaster?
Barnstable Town is 0.1% more expensive than Lancaster. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Barnstable Town equals $100K in Lancaster?
A $100,000 salary in Lancaster has the same purchasing power as $100,096 in Barnstable Town. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lancaster and Barnstable Town?
Rents in Lancaster are indexed at 93.8 while Barnstable Town is at 90.0 (national average = 100). Lancaster 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.