Overall
Diff -1.1 RPP
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission vs Florence-Muscle Shoals
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Florence-Muscle Shoals is 1.3% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.
1.3% less expensive
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL is 1.3% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 84.8 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission buys about the same as $98,745 in Florence-Muscle Shoals; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission) vs 84.8 (Florence-Muscle Shoals)
- $100k in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ≈ $98,745 purchasing power in Florence-Muscle Shoals
- Rents drives the gap (-8.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:AL 85.9→84.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- 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.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
Florence-Muscle Shoals
84.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX and Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Florence-Muscle Shoals is 8.2 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.
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 $98,745 in Florence-Muscle Shoals.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.6 RPP
Services
Diff +4.6 RPP
Rents
Diff -8.2 RPP
| Category | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Florence-Muscle Shoals | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 84.8 | -1.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.4 | +2.6 |
| Services | 81.2 | 85.8 | +4.6 |
| Rents | 55.9 | 47.7 | -8.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Florence-Muscle Shoals 84.8
Goods
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Florence-Muscle Shoals 96.4
Services
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Florence-Muscle Shoals 85.8
Rents
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Florence-Muscle Shoals 47.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission would need to be in Florence-Muscle Shoals for the same purchasing power:
| In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | In Florence-Muscle Shoals | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,372 | $-628 |
| $75,000 | $74,059 | $-941 |
| $100,000 | $98,745 | $-1,255 |
| $150,000 | $148,117 | $-1,883 |
$ in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission = in Florence-Muscle Shoals
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 84.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Florence-Muscle Shoals more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Florence-Muscle Shoals is 1.3% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. The overall cost index is 84.8 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals equals $100K in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission has the same purchasing power as $98,745 in Florence-Muscle Shoals. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Florence-Muscle Shoals?
Rents in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission are indexed at 55.9 while Florence-Muscle Shoals is at 47.7 (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.