Overall
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 87.1
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 87.7
Diff +0.6 RPP
Parkersburg-Vienna vs Watertown-Fort Drum
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Watertown-Fort Drum is 0.7% more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna.
0.7% more expensive
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY is 0.7% more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna, WV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.7 vs 87.1). A $100,000 salary in Parkersburg-Vienna buys about the same as $100,717 in Watertown-Fort Drum; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.1 (Parkersburg-Vienna) vs 87.7 (Watertown-Fort Drum)
- $100k in Parkersburg-Vienna ≈ $100,717 purchasing power in Watertown-Fort Drum
- Services drives the gap (+39.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WV:NY 87.1→87.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WV × NY
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Parkersburg-Vienna
87.1
Cost Index
Watertown-Fort Drum
87.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV and Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 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.
Services leads the difference, with Watertown-Fort Drum 39.3 points higher than Parkersburg-Vienna. 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.
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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Parkersburg-Vienna to $100,717 in Watertown-Fort Drum, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 96.3
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 99.7
Diff +3.4 RPP
Services
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 92.9
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 132.2
Diff +39.3 RPP
Rents
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 45.9
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 53.2
Diff +7.3 RPP
| Category | Parkersburg-Vienna | Watertown-Fort Drum | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.1 | 87.7 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 99.7 | +3.4 |
| Services | 92.9 | 132.2 | +39.3 |
| Rents | 45.9 | 53.2 | +7.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Parkersburg-Vienna 87.1
Watertown-Fort Drum 87.7
Goods
Parkersburg-Vienna 96.3
Watertown-Fort Drum 99.7
Services
Parkersburg-Vienna 92.9
Watertown-Fort Drum 132.2
Rents
Parkersburg-Vienna 45.9
Watertown-Fort Drum 53.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Parkersburg-Vienna would need to be in Watertown-Fort Drum for the same purchasing power:
| In Parkersburg-Vienna | In Watertown-Fort Drum | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,358 | +$358 |
| $75,000 | $75,538 | +$538 |
| $100,000 | $100,717 | +$717 |
| $150,000 | $151,075 | +$1,075 |
$ in Parkersburg-Vienna = in Watertown-Fort Drum
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.1 → 87.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Watertown-Fort Drum more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna?
Watertown-Fort Drum is 0.7% more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna. The overall cost index is 87.7 vs 87.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Watertown-Fort Drum equals $100K in Parkersburg-Vienna?
A $100,000 salary in Parkersburg-Vienna has the same purchasing power as $100,717 in Watertown-Fort Drum. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Parkersburg-Vienna and Watertown-Fort Drum?
Rents in Parkersburg-Vienna are indexed at 45.9 while Watertown-Fort Drum is at 53.2 (national average = 100). Watertown-Fort Drum 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.