Overall
- Modesto
- 104.1
- Manchester-Nashua
- 105.7
Diff +1.5 RPP
Modesto vs Manchester-Nashua
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Manchester-Nashua is 1.5% more expensive than Modesto.
1.5% more expensive
Manchester-Nashua, NH is 1.5% more expensive than Modesto, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.7 vs 104.1). A $100,000 salary in Modesto buys about the same as $101,488 in Manchester-Nashua; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 104.1 (Modesto) vs 105.7 (Manchester-Nashua)
- $100k in Modesto ≈ $101,488 purchasing power in Manchester-Nashua
- Rents drives the gap (+25.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:NH 104.1→105.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CA × NH
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Modesto
104.1
Cost Index
Manchester-Nashua
105.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Modesto, CA and Manchester-Nashua, NH are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Manchester-Nashua is 25.7 points higher. 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Modesto corresponds to $101,488 in Manchester-Nashua.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Modesto
- 105.2
- Manchester-Nashua
- 97.7
Diff -7.5 RPP
Services
- Modesto
- 152.3
- Manchester-Nashua
- 133.5
Diff -18.7 RPP
Rents
- Modesto
- 108.5
- Manchester-Nashua
- 134.2
Diff +25.7 RPP
| Category | Modesto | Manchester-Nashua | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 104.1 | 105.7 | +1.5 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 97.7 | -7.5 |
| Services | 152.3 | 133.5 | -18.7 |
| Rents | 108.5 | 134.2 | +25.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Modesto 104.1
Manchester-Nashua 105.7
Goods
Modesto 105.2
Manchester-Nashua 97.7
Services
Modesto 152.3
Manchester-Nashua 133.5
Rents
Modesto 108.5
Manchester-Nashua 134.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Modesto and Manchester-Nashua share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 10.3 to 1.5 RPP points. Manchester-Nashua remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 55.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (36.7 to 18.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Modesto RPP | Manchester-Nashua RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.7 | 109.0 | 10.3 points Manchester-Nashua higher |
| 2012 | 102.1 | 104.2 | 2.1 points Manchester-Nashua higher |
| 2016 | 97.8 | 108.0 | 10.2 points Manchester-Nashua higher |
| 2020 | 103.2 | 104.8 | 1.6 points Manchester-Nashua higher |
| 2024 | 104.1 | 105.7 | 1.5 points Manchester-Nashua 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 Modesto would need to be in Manchester-Nashua for the same purchasing power:
| In Modesto | In Manchester-Nashua | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,744 | +$744 |
| $75,000 | $76,116 | +$1,116 |
| $100,000 | $101,488 | +$1,488 |
| $150,000 | $152,232 | +$2,232 |
$ in Modesto = in Manchester-Nashua
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (104.1 → 105.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Manchester-Nashua more expensive than Modesto?
Manchester-Nashua is 1.5% more expensive than Modesto. The overall cost index is 105.7 vs 104.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Manchester-Nashua equals $100K in Modesto?
A $100,000 salary in Modesto has the same purchasing power as $101,488 in Manchester-Nashua. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Modesto and Manchester-Nashua?
Rents in Modesto are indexed at 108.5 while Manchester-Nashua is at 134.2 (national average = 100). Manchester-Nashua 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.