Overall
Diff +10.2 RPP
Lancaster vs Vallejo
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Vallejo is 10.4% more expensive than Lancaster.
10.4% more expensive
Vallejo, CA is 10.4% more expensive than Lancaster, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.5 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Lancaster buys about the same as $110,403 in Vallejo; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Lancaster) vs 108.5 (Vallejo)
- $100k in Lancaster ≈ $110,403 purchasing power in Vallejo
- Rents drives the gap (+48.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:CA 98.3→108.5
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE PA × CA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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 Vallejo for the same purchasing power:
| In Lancaster | In Vallejo | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $55,202 | +$5,202 |
| $75,000 | $82,802 | +$7,802 |
| $100,000 | $110,403 | +$10,403 |
| $150,000 | $165,605 | +$15,605 |
$ in Lancaster = in Vallejo
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 108.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lancaster, PA and Vallejo, CA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.2 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Vallejo is above 100 while Lancaster is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Vallejo 48.2 points higher 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 $110,403 in Vallejo.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +4.5 RPP
Services
Diff +47.7 RPP
Rents
Diff +48.2 RPP
| Category | Lancaster | Vallejo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 108.5 | +10.2 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 105.2 | +4.5 |
| Services | 107.3 | 155.0 | +47.7 |
| Rents | 93.8 | 142.0 | +48.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lancaster 98.3
Vallejo 108.5
Goods
Lancaster 100.7
Vallejo 105.2
Services
Lancaster 107.3
Vallejo 155.0
Rents
Lancaster 93.8
Vallejo 142.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
Vallejo
108.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Vallejo more expensive than Lancaster?
Vallejo is 10.4% more expensive than Lancaster. The overall cost index is 108.5 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Vallejo equals $100K in Lancaster?
A $100,000 salary in Lancaster has the same purchasing power as $110,403 in Vallejo. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lancaster and Vallejo?
Rents in Lancaster are indexed at 93.8 while Vallejo is at 142.0 (national average = 100). Vallejo 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.