Overall
- Napa
- 112.6
- Rocky Mount
- 88.0
Diff -24.5 RPP
Napa vs Rocky Mount
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rocky Mount is 21.8% less expensive than Napa.
21.8% less expensive
Rocky Mount, NC is 21.8% less expensive than Napa, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 112.6). A $100,000 salary in Napa buys about the same as $78,195 in Rocky Mount; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 112.6 (Napa) vs 88.0 (Rocky Mount)
- $100k in Napa ≈ $78,195 purchasing power in Rocky Mount
- Rents drives the gap (-141.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:NC 112.6→88.0
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE CA × NC
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Napa would need to be in Rocky Mount for the same purchasing power:
| In Napa | In Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $39,098 | $-10,902 |
| $75,000 | $58,647 | $-16,353 |
| $100,000 | $78,195 | $-21,805 |
| $150,000 | $117,293 | $-32,707 |
$ in Napa = in Rocky Mount
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (112.6 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Napa, CA and Rocky Mount, NC sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 24.5 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Napa is above 100 while Rocky Mount is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Rocky Mount 141.3 points lower than Napa. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Napa corresponds to $78,195 in Rocky Mount.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Napa
- 105.2
- Rocky Mount
- 96.6
Diff -8.5 RPP
Services
- Napa
- 156.5
- Rocky Mount
- 88.4
Diff -68.2 RPP
Rents
- Napa
- 197.4
- Rocky Mount
- 56.1
Diff -141.3 RPP
| Category | Napa | Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 112.6 | 88.0 | -24.5 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.6 | -8.5 |
| Services | 156.5 | 88.4 | -68.2 |
| Rents | 197.4 | 56.1 | -141.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Napa 112.6
Rocky Mount 88.0
Goods
Napa 105.2
Rocky Mount 96.6
Services
Napa 156.5
Rocky Mount 88.4
Rents
Napa 197.4
Rocky Mount 56.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Napa
112.6
Cost Index
Rocky Mount
88.0
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Napa and Rocky Mount share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 26.6 to 24.5 RPP points. Napa remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 57.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (84.1 to 141.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Napa RPP | Rocky Mount RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 115.2 | 88.7 | 26.6 points Napa higher |
| 2012 | 111.6 | 89.1 | 22.5 points Napa higher |
| 2016 | 117.8 | 87.8 | 29.9 points Napa higher |
| 2020 | 112.2 | 83.8 | 28.4 points Napa higher |
| 2024 | 112.6 | 88.0 | 24.5 points Napa 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rocky Mount more expensive than Napa?
Rocky Mount is 21.8% less expensive than Napa. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 112.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rocky Mount equals $100K in Napa?
A $100,000 salary in Napa has the same purchasing power as $78,195 in Rocky Mount. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Napa and Rocky Mount?
Rents in Napa are indexed at 197.4 while Rocky Mount is at 56.1 (national average = 100). Napa 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.