Overall
- Longview-Kelso
- 97.5
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 97.6
Diff +0.0 RPP
Longview-Kelso vs Durham-Chapel Hill
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Durham-Chapel Hill is 0% more expensive than Longview-Kelso.
0% more expensive
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC is 0% more expensive than Longview-Kelso, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.6 vs 97.5). A $100,000 salary in Longview-Kelso buys about the same as $100,028 in Durham-Chapel Hill; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.5 (Longview-Kelso) vs 97.6 (Durham-Chapel Hill)
- $100k in Longview-Kelso ≈ $100,028 purchasing power in Durham-Chapel Hill
- Rents drives the gap (+16.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:NC 97.5→97.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WA × NC
- 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.
Longview-Kelso
97.5
Cost Index
Durham-Chapel Hill
97.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Longview-Kelso, WA and Durham-Chapel Hill, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Durham-Chapel Hill is 16.4 points higher. But services 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 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 Longview-Kelso corresponds to $100,028 in Durham-Chapel Hill.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Longview-Kelso
- 105.0
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 96.6
Diff -8.4 RPP
Services
- Longview-Kelso
- 98.5
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 89.3
Diff -9.1 RPP
Rents
- Longview-Kelso
- 82.5
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- 98.9
Diff +16.4 RPP
| Category | Longview-Kelso | Durham-Chapel Hill | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.5 | 97.6 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 96.6 | -8.4 |
| Services | 98.5 | 89.3 | -9.1 |
| Rents | 82.5 | 98.9 | +16.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Longview-Kelso 97.5
Durham-Chapel Hill 97.6
Goods
Longview-Kelso 105.0
Durham-Chapel Hill 96.6
Services
Longview-Kelso 98.5
Durham-Chapel Hill 89.3
Rents
Longview-Kelso 82.5
Durham-Chapel Hill 98.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Longview-Kelso would need to be in Durham-Chapel Hill for the same purchasing power:
| In Longview-Kelso | In Durham-Chapel Hill | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,014 | +$14 |
| $75,000 | $75,021 | +$21 |
| $100,000 | $100,028 | +$28 |
| $150,000 | $150,042 | +$42 |
$ in Longview-Kelso = in Durham-Chapel Hill
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.5 → 97.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Durham-Chapel Hill more expensive than Longview-Kelso?
Durham-Chapel Hill is 0% more expensive than Longview-Kelso. The overall cost index is 97.6 vs 97.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Durham-Chapel Hill equals $100K in Longview-Kelso?
A $100,000 salary in Longview-Kelso has the same purchasing power as $100,028 in Durham-Chapel Hill. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Longview-Kelso and Durham-Chapel Hill?
Rents in Longview-Kelso are indexed at 82.5 while Durham-Chapel Hill is at 98.9 (national average = 100). Durham-Chapel Hill 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.