Overall
- Manchester-Nashua
- 105.7
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff -7.4 RPP
Manchester-Nashua vs Lancaster
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lancaster is 7% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua.
7% less expensive
Lancaster, PA is 7% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua, NH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 105.7). A $100,000 salary in Manchester-Nashua buys about the same as $92,996 in Lancaster; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 105.7 (Manchester-Nashua) vs 98.3 (Lancaster)
- $100k in Manchester-Nashua ≈ $92,996 purchasing power in Lancaster
- Rents drives the gap (-40.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NH:PA 105.7→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE NH × PA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Manchester-Nashua
- 97.7
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff +3.0 RPP
Services
- Manchester-Nashua
- 133.5
- Lancaster
- 107.3
Diff -26.3 RPP
Rents
- Manchester-Nashua
- 134.2
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff -40.4 RPP
| Category | Manchester-Nashua | Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.7 | 98.3 | -7.4 |
| Goods | 97.7 | 100.7 | +3.0 |
| Services | 133.5 | 107.3 | -26.3 |
| Rents | 134.2 | 93.8 | -40.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Manchester-Nashua 105.7
Lancaster 98.3
Goods
Manchester-Nashua 97.7
Lancaster 100.7
Services
Manchester-Nashua 133.5
Lancaster 107.3
Rents
Manchester-Nashua 134.2
Lancaster 93.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Lancaster is 40.4 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Lancaster, PA is 7% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua, NH, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.4-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Manchester-Nashua is above 100 while Lancaster is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
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 Manchester-Nashua corresponds to $92,996 in Lancaster.
Manchester-Nashua
105.7
Cost Index
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Manchester-Nashua would need to be in Lancaster for the same purchasing power:
| In Manchester-Nashua | In Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,498 | $-3,502 |
| $75,000 | $69,747 | $-5,253 |
| $100,000 | $92,996 | $-7,004 |
| $150,000 | $139,494 | $-10,506 |
$ in Manchester-Nashua = in Lancaster
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.7 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lancaster more expensive than Manchester-Nashua?
Lancaster is 7% less expensive than Manchester-Nashua. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 105.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lancaster equals $100K in Manchester-Nashua?
A $100,000 salary in Manchester-Nashua has the same purchasing power as $92,996 in Lancaster. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Manchester-Nashua and Lancaster?
Rents in Manchester-Nashua are indexed at 134.2 while Lancaster is at 93.8 (national average = 100). Manchester-Nashua 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.