Overall
- Manhattan
- 90.2
- Montgomery
- 89.7
Diff -0.5 RPP
Manhattan vs Montgomery
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Montgomery is 0.5% less expensive than Manhattan.
0.5% less expensive
Montgomery, AL is 0.5% less expensive than Manhattan, KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.7 vs 90.2). A $100,000 salary in Manhattan buys about the same as $99,468 in Montgomery; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.2 (Manhattan) vs 89.7 (Montgomery)
- $100k in Manhattan ≈ $99,468 purchasing power in Montgomery
- Rents drives the gap (-7.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KS:AL 90.2→89.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE KS × AL
- 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.
Manhattan
90.2
Cost Index
Montgomery
89.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Manhattan, KS and Montgomery, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Montgomery is 7.6 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 Manhattan corresponds to $99,468 in Montgomery.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Manhattan
- 94.0
- Montgomery
- 96.4
Diff +2.4 RPP
Services
- Manhattan
- 88.4
- Montgomery
- 84.9
Diff -3.5 RPP
Rents
- Manhattan
- 72.0
- Montgomery
- 64.3
Diff -7.6 RPP
| Category | Manhattan | Montgomery | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.2 | 89.7 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 94.0 | 96.4 | +2.4 |
| Services | 88.4 | 84.9 | -3.5 |
| Rents | 72.0 | 64.3 | -7.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Manhattan 90.2
Montgomery 89.7
Goods
Manhattan 94.0
Montgomery 96.4
Services
Manhattan 88.4
Montgomery 84.9
Rents
Manhattan 72.0
Montgomery 64.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Manhattan and Montgomery share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.5 to 0.5 RPP points. Manhattan remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 17.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (13.7 to 3.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Manhattan RPP | Montgomery RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 85.8 | 91.3 | 5.5 points Montgomery higher |
| 2012 | 94.5 | 93.3 | 1.2 points Manhattan higher |
| 2016 | 89.5 | 93.1 | 3.6 points Montgomery higher |
| 2020 | 91.7 | 87.5 | 4.2 points Manhattan higher |
| 2024 | 90.2 | 89.7 | 0.5 points Manhattan 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 Manhattan would need to be in Montgomery for the same purchasing power:
| In Manhattan | In Montgomery | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,734 | $-266 |
| $75,000 | $74,601 | $-399 |
| $100,000 | $99,468 | $-532 |
| $150,000 | $149,201 | $-799 |
$ in Manhattan = in Montgomery
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.2 → 89.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Montgomery more expensive than Manhattan?
Montgomery is 0.5% less expensive than Manhattan. The overall cost index is 89.7 vs 90.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Montgomery equals $100K in Manhattan?
A $100,000 salary in Manhattan has the same purchasing power as $99,468 in Montgomery. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Manhattan and Montgomery?
Rents in Manhattan are indexed at 72.0 while Montgomery is at 64.3 (national average = 100). Manhattan 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.