Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
- Utica-Rome
- 92.7
Diff -5.6 RPP
Lancaster vs Utica-Rome
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Utica-Rome is 5.7% less expensive than Lancaster.
5.7% less expensive
Utica-Rome, NY is 5.7% less expensive than Lancaster, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Lancaster buys about the same as $94,322 in Utica-Rome; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Lancaster) vs 92.7 (Utica-Rome)
- $100k in Lancaster ≈ $94,322 purchasing power in Utica-Rome
- Rents drives the gap (-27.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:NY 98.3→92.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × NY
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
- Utica-Rome
- 99.7
Diff -1.0 RPP
Services
- Lancaster
- 107.3
- Utica-Rome
- 131.9
Diff +24.6 RPP
Rents
- Lancaster
- 93.8
- Utica-Rome
- 66.1
Diff -27.8 RPP
| Category | Lancaster | Utica-Rome | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 92.7 | -5.6 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 99.7 | -1.0 |
| Services | 107.3 | 131.9 | +24.6 |
| Rents | 93.8 | 66.1 | -27.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lancaster 98.3
Utica-Rome 92.7
Goods
Lancaster 100.7
Utica-Rome 99.7
Services
Lancaster 107.3
Utica-Rome 131.9
Rents
Lancaster 93.8
Utica-Rome 66.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Utica-Rome is 27.8 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Utica-Rome, NY is 5.7% less expensive than Lancaster, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.6-point overall gap.
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.
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 $94,322 in Utica-Rome.
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
Utica-Rome
92.7
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lancaster would need to be in Utica-Rome for the same purchasing power:
| In Lancaster | In Utica-Rome | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,161 | $-2,839 |
| $75,000 | $70,742 | $-4,258 |
| $100,000 | $94,322 | $-5,678 |
| $150,000 | $141,483 | $-8,517 |
$ in Lancaster = in Utica-Rome
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Lancaster and Utica-Rome share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 4.4 to 5.6 RPP points. Lancaster remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (33.9 to 24.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lancaster RPP | Utica-Rome RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.2 | 95.7 | 4.4 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 97.8 | 93.5 | 4.3 points Lancaster higher |
| 2016 | 99.4 | 95.3 | 4.1 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 97.9 | 93.4 | 4.5 points Lancaster higher |
| 2024 | 98.3 | 92.7 | 5.6 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 Utica-Rome more expensive than Lancaster?
Utica-Rome is 5.7% less expensive than Lancaster. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Utica-Rome equals $100K in Lancaster?
A $100,000 salary in Lancaster has the same purchasing power as $94,322 in Utica-Rome. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lancaster and Utica-Rome?
Rents in Lancaster are indexed at 93.8 while Utica-Rome is at 66.1 (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.