Overall
- Paducah
- 86.1
Diff -0.1 RPP
Paducah vs Brownsville-Harlingen
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Brownsville-Harlingen is 0.1% less expensive than Paducah.
0.1% less expensive
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX is 0.1% less expensive than Paducah, KY-IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.0 vs 86.1). A $100,000 salary in Paducah buys about the same as $99,873 in Brownsville-Harlingen; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 86.1 (Paducah) vs 86.0 (Brownsville-Harlingen)
- $100k in Paducah ≈ $99,873 purchasing power in Brownsville-Harlingen
- Rents drives the gap (+8.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KY:TX 86.1→86.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE KY × TX
- 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.
Paducah
86.1
Cost Index
Brownsville-Harlingen
86.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Paducah, KY-IL and Brownsville-Harlingen, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Brownsville-Harlingen is 8.9 points higher. But rents and services 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 Paducah corresponds to $99,873 in Brownsville-Harlingen.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Paducah
- 96.0
Diff -2.3 RPP
Services
- Paducah
- 76.9
Diff +4.3 RPP
Rents
- Paducah
- 48.8
Diff +8.9 RPP
| Category | Paducah | Brownsville-Harlingen | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 86.1 | 86.0 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 93.8 | -2.3 |
| Services | 76.9 | 81.2 | +4.3 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 57.7 | +8.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Paducah 86.1
Brownsville-Harlingen 86.0
Goods
Paducah 96.0
Brownsville-Harlingen 93.8
Services
Paducah 76.9
Brownsville-Harlingen 81.2
Rents
Paducah 48.8
Brownsville-Harlingen 57.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Paducah would need to be in Brownsville-Harlingen for the same purchasing power:
| In Paducah | In Brownsville-Harlingen | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,937 | $-63 |
| $75,000 | $74,905 | $-95 |
| $100,000 | $99,873 | $-127 |
| $150,000 | $149,810 | $-190 |
$ in Paducah = in Brownsville-Harlingen
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (86.1 → 86.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brownsville-Harlingen more expensive than Paducah?
Brownsville-Harlingen is 0.1% less expensive than Paducah. The overall cost index is 86.0 vs 86.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Brownsville-Harlingen equals $100K in Paducah?
A $100,000 salary in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $99,873 in Brownsville-Harlingen. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Paducah and Brownsville-Harlingen?
Rents in Paducah are indexed at 48.8 while Brownsville-Harlingen is at 57.7 (national average = 100). Brownsville-Harlingen 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.