Overall
- Manchester-Nashua
- 105.7
Diff +3.2 RPP
Manchester-Nashua vs Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 3.1% more expensive than Manchester-Nashua.
3.1% more expensive
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 3.1% more expensive than Manchester-Nashua, NH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.9 vs 105.7). A $100,000 salary in Manchester-Nashua buys about the same as $103,054 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 105.7 (Manchester-Nashua) vs 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria)
- $100k in Manchester-Nashua ≈ $103,054 purchasing power in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
- Services drives the gap (-26.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NH:DC 105.7→108.9
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE NH × DC
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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
- Manchester-Nashua
- 97.7
Diff +7.2 RPP
Services
- Manchester-Nashua
- 133.5
Diff -26.8 RPP
Rents
- Manchester-Nashua
- 134.2
Diff +16.9 RPP
| Category | Manchester-Nashua | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.7 | 108.9 | +3.2 |
| Goods | 97.7 | 104.8 | +7.2 |
| Services | 133.5 | 106.7 | -26.8 |
| Rents | 134.2 | 151.1 | +16.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Manchester-Nashua 105.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Goods
Manchester-Nashua 97.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Services
Manchester-Nashua 133.5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Rents
Manchester-Nashua 134.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 26.8 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 3.1% more expensive than Manchester-Nashua, NH, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.2-point overall gap.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Manchester-Nashua to $103,054 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Manchester-Nashua
105.7
Cost Index
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Manchester-Nashua would need to be in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria for the same purchasing power:
| In Manchester-Nashua | In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,527 | +$1,527 |
| $75,000 | $77,291 | +$2,291 |
| $100,000 | $103,054 | +$3,054 |
| $150,000 | $154,581 | +$4,581 |
$ in Manchester-Nashua = in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.7 → 108.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Manchester-Nashua and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.8 to 3.2 RPP points. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 11.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (28.8 to 16.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Manchester-Nashua RPP | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 109.0 | 114.8 | 5.8 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2012 | 104.2 | 111.7 | 7.5 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2016 | 108.0 | 112.1 | 4.1 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2020 | 104.8 | 111.4 | 6.7 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2024 | 105.7 | 108.9 | 3.2 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria more expensive than Manchester-Nashua?
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 3.1% more expensive than Manchester-Nashua. The overall cost index is 108.9 vs 105.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria equals $100K in Manchester-Nashua?
A $100,000 salary in Manchester-Nashua has the same purchasing power as $103,054 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Manchester-Nashua and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Rents in Manchester-Nashua are indexed at 134.2 while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is at 151.1 (national average = 100). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.