Overall
Diff -0.4 RPP
Lawrence vs Dalton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dalton is 0.4% less expensive than Lawrence.
0.4% less expensive
Dalton, GA is 0.4% less expensive than Lawrence, KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.8 vs 90.2). A $100,000 salary in Lawrence buys about the same as $99,558 in Dalton; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.2 (Lawrence) vs 89.8 (Dalton)
- $100k in Lawrence ≈ $99,558 purchasing power in Dalton
- Rents drives the gap (-8.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KS:GA 90.2→89.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE KS × GA
- 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.
Lawrence
90.2
Cost Index
Dalton
89.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lawrence, KS and Dalton, GA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Dalton is 8.3 points lower. 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 Lawrence corresponds to $99,558 in Dalton.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.2 RPP
Services
Diff -0.5 RPP
Rents
Diff -8.3 RPP
| Category | Lawrence | Dalton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.2 | 89.8 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 94.0 | 96.3 | +2.2 |
| Services | 89.3 | 88.8 | -0.5 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 63.3 | -8.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lawrence 90.2
Dalton 89.8
Goods
Lawrence 94.0
Dalton 96.3
Services
Lawrence 89.3
Dalton 88.8
Rents
Lawrence 71.6
Dalton 63.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Lawrence and Dalton share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 8.9 to 0.4 RPP points. Lawrence remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 14.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (22.4 to 8.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lawrence RPP | Dalton RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.2 | 89.3 | 8.9 points Lawrence higher |
| 2012 | 96.0 | 88.5 | 7.5 points Lawrence higher |
| 2016 | 94.1 | 87.6 | 6.5 points Lawrence higher |
| 2020 | 94.0 | 84.5 | 9.5 points Lawrence higher |
| 2024 | 90.2 | 89.8 | 0.4 points Lawrence 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lawrence would need to be in Dalton for the same purchasing power:
| In Lawrence | In Dalton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,779 | $-221 |
| $75,000 | $74,668 | $-332 |
| $100,000 | $99,558 | $-442 |
| $150,000 | $149,337 | $-663 |
$ in Lawrence = in Dalton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.2 → 89.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dalton more expensive than Lawrence?
Dalton is 0.4% less expensive than Lawrence. The overall cost index is 89.8 vs 90.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dalton equals $100K in Lawrence?
A $100,000 salary in Lawrence has the same purchasing power as $99,558 in Dalton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lawrence and Dalton?
Rents in Lawrence are indexed at 71.6 while Dalton is at 63.3 (national average = 100). Lawrence 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.