Overall
Diff +0.1 RPP
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission vs Brownsville-Harlingen
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Brownsville-Harlingen is 0.1% more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.
0.1% more expensive
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX is 0.1% more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.0 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission buys about the same as $100,093 in Brownsville-Harlingen; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission) vs 86.0 (Brownsville-Harlingen)
- $100k in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ≈ $100,093 purchasing power in Brownsville-Harlingen
- Rents drives the gap (+1.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:TX 85.9→86.0
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · TX
- 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.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
Brownsville-Harlingen
86.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX and Brownsville-Harlingen, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Brownsville-Harlingen is 1.8 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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission corresponds to $100,093 in Brownsville-Harlingen.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
Diff -0.0 RPP
Rents
Diff +1.8 RPP
| Category | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Brownsville-Harlingen | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 86.0 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 | 0.0 |
| Services | 81.2 | 81.2 | -0.0 |
| Rents | 55.9 | 57.7 | +1.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Brownsville-Harlingen 86.0
Goods
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Brownsville-Harlingen 93.8
Services
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Brownsville-Harlingen 81.2
Rents
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Brownsville-Harlingen 57.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission would need to be in Brownsville-Harlingen for the same purchasing power:
| In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | In Brownsville-Harlingen | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,047 | +$47 |
| $75,000 | $75,070 | +$70 |
| $100,000 | $100,093 | +$93 |
| $150,000 | $150,140 | +$140 |
$ in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission = in Brownsville-Harlingen
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 86.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brownsville-Harlingen more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Brownsville-Harlingen is 0.1% more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. The overall cost index is 86.0 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Brownsville-Harlingen equals $100K in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission has the same purchasing power as $100,093 in Brownsville-Harlingen. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Brownsville-Harlingen?
Rents in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission are indexed at 55.9 while Brownsville-Harlingen is at 57.7 (national average = 100). Brownsville-Harlingen 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.