Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff -12.3 RPP
Lancaster vs Brownsville-Harlingen
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Brownsville-Harlingen is 12.5% less expensive than Lancaster.
12.5% less expensive
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX is 12.5% less expensive than Lancaster, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.0 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Lancaster buys about the same as $87,500 in Brownsville-Harlingen; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Lancaster) vs 86.0 (Brownsville-Harlingen)
- $100k in Lancaster ≈ $87,500 purchasing power in Brownsville-Harlingen
- Rents drives the gap (-36.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:TX 98.3→86.0
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE PA × TX
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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 Lancaster would need to be in Brownsville-Harlingen for the same purchasing power:
| In Lancaster | In Brownsville-Harlingen | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $43,750 | $-6,250 |
| $75,000 | $65,625 | $-9,375 |
| $100,000 | $87,500 | $-12,500 |
| $150,000 | $131,250 | $-18,750 |
$ in Lancaster = in Brownsville-Harlingen
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 86.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Lancaster, PA and Brownsville-Harlingen, TX sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.3 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Rents leads the difference, with Brownsville-Harlingen 36.1 points lower than Lancaster. 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 Lancaster corresponds to $87,500 in Brownsville-Harlingen.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff -6.9 RPP
Services
- Lancaster
- 107.3
Diff -26.1 RPP
Rents
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff -36.1 RPP
| Category | Lancaster | Brownsville-Harlingen | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 86.0 | -12.3 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 93.8 | -6.9 |
| Services | 107.3 | 81.2 | -26.1 |
| Rents | 93.8 | 57.7 | -36.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lancaster 98.3
Brownsville-Harlingen 86.0
Goods
Lancaster 100.7
Brownsville-Harlingen 93.8
Services
Lancaster 107.3
Brownsville-Harlingen 81.2
Rents
Lancaster 93.8
Brownsville-Harlingen 57.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
Brownsville-Harlingen
86.0
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Lancaster and Brownsville-Harlingen share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 15.1 to 12.3 RPP points. Lancaster remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 17.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (8.4 to 26.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lancaster RPP | Brownsville-Harlingen RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.2 | 85.0 | 15.1 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 97.8 | 89.2 | 8.6 points Lancaster higher |
| 2016 | 99.4 | 89.5 | 9.8 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 97.9 | 85.0 | 12.9 points Lancaster higher |
| 2024 | 98.3 | 86.0 | 12.3 points Lancaster 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 Brownsville-Harlingen more expensive than Lancaster?
Brownsville-Harlingen is 12.5% less expensive than Lancaster. The overall cost index is 86.0 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Brownsville-Harlingen equals $100K in Lancaster?
A $100,000 salary in Lancaster has the same purchasing power as $87,500 in Brownsville-Harlingen. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lancaster and Brownsville-Harlingen?
Rents in Lancaster are indexed at 93.8 while Brownsville-Harlingen is at 57.7 (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.