Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff -0.3 RPP
Merced vs Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 0.3% less expensive than Merced.
0.3% less expensive
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC is 0.3% less expensive than Merced, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.0 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Merced buys about the same as $99,737 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Merced) vs 98.0 (Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal)
- $100k in Merced ≈ $99,737 purchasing power in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
- Services drives the gap (-70.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:SC 98.3→98.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CA × SC
- 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.
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
98.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Merced, CA and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 70.3 points lower. But rents 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Merced to $99,737 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff -8.8 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff -70.3 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +22.6 RPP
| Category | Merced | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 98.0 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.3 | -8.8 |
| Services | 158.3 | 88.1 | -70.3 |
| Rents | 78.6 | 101.2 | +22.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Merced 98.3
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 98.0
Goods
Merced 105.2
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 96.3
Services
Merced 158.3
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 88.1
Rents
Merced 78.6
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 101.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Merced would need to be in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal for the same purchasing power:
| In Merced | In Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,869 | $-131 |
| $75,000 | $74,803 | $-197 |
| $100,000 | $99,737 | $-263 |
| $150,000 | $149,606 | $-394 |
$ in Merced = in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 98.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal more expensive than Merced?
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is 0.3% less expensive than Merced. The overall cost index is 98.0 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal equals $100K in Merced?
A $100,000 salary in Merced has the same purchasing power as $99,737 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Merced and Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal?
Rents in Merced are indexed at 78.6 while Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal is at 101.2 (national average = 100). Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal 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.