Overall
- Dothan
- 83.8
Diff -2.1 RPP
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission vs Dothan
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dothan is 2.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.
2.4% less expensive
Dothan, AL is 2.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 83.8 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission buys about the same as $97,599 in Dothan; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission) vs 83.8 (Dothan)
- $100k in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ≈ $97,599 purchasing power in Dothan
- Rents drives the gap (-9.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:AL 85.9→83.8
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dothan
- 96.4
Diff +2.6 RPP
Services
- Dothan
- 84.3
Diff +3.1 RPP
Rents
- Dothan
- 46.9
Diff -9.0 RPP
| Category | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Dothan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 83.8 | -2.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.4 | +2.6 |
| Services | 81.2 | 84.3 | +3.1 |
| Rents | 55.9 | 46.9 | -9.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Dothan 83.8
Goods
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Dothan 96.4
Services
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Dothan 84.3
Rents
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Dothan 46.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Dothan is 9.0 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Dothan, AL is 2.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.1-point overall gap.
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.
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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission corresponds to $97,599 in Dothan.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
Dothan
83.8
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission would need to be in Dothan for the same purchasing power:
| In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | In Dothan | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,800 | $-1,200 |
| $75,000 | $73,200 | $-1,800 |
| $100,000 | $97,599 | $-2,401 |
| $150,000 | $146,399 | $-3,601 |
$ in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission = in Dothan
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 83.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dothan more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Dothan is 2.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. The overall cost index is 83.8 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dothan equals $100K in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission has the same purchasing power as $97,599 in Dothan. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Dothan?
Rents in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission are indexed at 55.9 while Dothan is at 46.9 (national average = 100). McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 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.