Overall
- Midland
- 95.8
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff +0.6 RPP
Midland vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 0.7% more expensive than Midland.
0.7% more expensive
Wilmington, NC is 0.7% more expensive than Midland, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 95.8). A $100,000 salary in Midland buys about the same as $100,667 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 95.8 (Midland) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Midland ≈ $100,667 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Rents drives the gap (-8.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:NC 95.8→96.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × NC
- 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.
Midland
95.8
Cost Index
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Midland, TX and Wilmington, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Wilmington is 8.3 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 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 Midland corresponds to $100,667 in Wilmington.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Midland
- 93.8
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff +2.9 RPP
Services
- Midland
- 83.2
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff +4.7 RPP
Rents
- Midland
- 101.5
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff -8.3 RPP
| Category | Midland | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.8 | 96.4 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.6 | +2.9 |
| Services | 83.2 | 87.9 | +4.7 |
| Rents | 101.5 | 93.2 | -8.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Midland 95.8
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Midland 93.8
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Midland 83.2
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Midland 101.5
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Midland and Wilmington share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.3 to 0.6 RPP points. Wilmington remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 22.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (17.7 to 4.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Midland RPP | Wilmington RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.5 | 93.2 | 3.3 points Midland higher |
| 2012 | 100.3 | 95.2 | 5.2 points Midland higher |
| 2016 | 102.6 | 95.1 | 7.5 points Midland higher |
| 2020 | 95.8 | 94.0 | 1.8 points Midland higher |
| 2024 | 95.8 | 96.4 | 0.6 points Wilmington 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 Midland would need to be in Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Midland | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,334 | +$334 |
| $75,000 | $75,500 | +$500 |
| $100,000 | $100,667 | +$667 |
| $150,000 | $151,001 | +$1,001 |
$ in Midland = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.8 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington more expensive than Midland?
Wilmington is 0.7% more expensive than Midland. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 95.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Midland?
A $100,000 salary in Midland has the same purchasing power as $100,667 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Midland and Wilmington?
Rents in Midland are indexed at 101.5 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (national average = 100). Midland 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.