Overall
- Napa
- 112.6
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff -16.1 RPP
Napa vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 14.3% less expensive than Napa.
14.3% less expensive
Wilmington, NC is 14.3% less expensive than Napa, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 112.6). A $100,000 salary in Napa buys about the same as $85,667 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 112.6 (Napa) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Napa ≈ $85,667 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Rents drives the gap (-104.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:NC 112.6→96.4
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE CA × NC
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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 Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Napa | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $42,834 | $-7,166 |
| $75,000 | $64,250 | $-10,750 |
| $100,000 | $85,667 | $-14,333 |
| $150,000 | $128,501 | $-21,499 |
$ in Napa = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (112.6 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Napa, CA and Wilmington, NC sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 16.1 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 Wilmington is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Wilmington 104.2 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 $85,667 in Wilmington.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Napa
- 105.2
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff -8.5 RPP
Services
- Napa
- 156.5
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff -68.6 RPP
Rents
- Napa
- 197.4
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff -104.2 RPP
| Category | Napa | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 112.6 | 96.4 | -16.1 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.6 | -8.5 |
| Services | 156.5 | 87.9 | -68.6 |
| Rents | 197.4 | 93.2 | -104.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Napa 112.6
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Napa 105.2
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Napa 156.5
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Napa 197.4
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Napa
112.6
Cost Index
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Napa and Wilmington share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 22.0 to 16.1 RPP points. Napa remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 48.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (55.3 to 104.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Napa RPP | Wilmington RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 115.2 | 93.2 | 22.0 points Napa higher |
| 2012 | 111.6 | 95.2 | 16.5 points Napa higher |
| 2016 | 117.8 | 95.1 | 22.7 points Napa higher |
| 2020 | 112.2 | 94.0 | 18.2 points Napa higher |
| 2024 | 112.6 | 96.4 | 16.1 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 Wilmington more expensive than Napa?
Wilmington is 14.3% less expensive than Napa. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 112.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Napa?
A $100,000 salary in Napa has the same purchasing power as $85,667 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Napa and Wilmington?
Rents in Napa are indexed at 197.4 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (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.