Overall
- Minot
- 87.0
- Kingsport-Bristol
- 86.4
Diff -0.6 RPP
Minot vs Kingsport-Bristol
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Kingsport-Bristol is 0.7% less expensive than Minot.
0.7% less expensive
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA is 0.7% less expensive than Minot, ND on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.4 vs 87.0). A $100,000 salary in Minot buys about the same as $99,332 in Kingsport-Bristol; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.0 (Minot) vs 86.4 (Kingsport-Bristol)
- $100k in Minot ≈ $99,332 purchasing power in Kingsport-Bristol
- Rents drives the gap (-6.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ND:TN 87.0→86.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ND × TN
- 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.
Minot
87.0
Cost Index
Kingsport-Bristol
86.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Minot, ND and Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 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: Kingsport-Bristol is 6.7 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 Minot corresponds to $99,332 in Kingsport-Bristol.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Minot
- 95.7
- Kingsport-Bristol
- 96.2
Diff +0.5 RPP
Services
- Minot
- 72.9
- Kingsport-Bristol
- 75.9
Diff +3.0 RPP
Rents
- Minot
- 63.2
- Kingsport-Bristol
- 56.5
Diff -6.7 RPP
| Category | Minot | Kingsport-Bristol | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.0 | 86.4 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 96.2 | +0.5 |
| Services | 72.9 | 75.9 | +3.0 |
| Rents | 63.2 | 56.5 | -6.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Minot 87.0
Kingsport-Bristol 86.4
Goods
Minot 95.7
Kingsport-Bristol 96.2
Services
Minot 72.9
Kingsport-Bristol 75.9
Rents
Minot 63.2
Kingsport-Bristol 56.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Minot would need to be in Kingsport-Bristol for the same purchasing power:
| In Minot | In Kingsport-Bristol | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,666 | $-334 |
| $75,000 | $74,499 | $-501 |
| $100,000 | $99,332 | $-668 |
| $150,000 | $148,999 | $-1,001 |
$ in Minot = in Kingsport-Bristol
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.0 → 86.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kingsport-Bristol more expensive than Minot?
Kingsport-Bristol is 0.7% less expensive than Minot. The overall cost index is 86.4 vs 87.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Kingsport-Bristol equals $100K in Minot?
A $100,000 salary in Minot has the same purchasing power as $99,332 in Kingsport-Bristol. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Minot and Kingsport-Bristol?
Rents in Minot are indexed at 63.2 while Kingsport-Bristol is at 56.5 (national average = 100). Minot 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.