Overall
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 87.1
- Youngstown-Warren
- 87.4
Diff +0.3 RPP
Parkersburg-Vienna vs Youngstown-Warren
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Youngstown-Warren is 0.4% more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna.
0.4% more expensive
Youngstown-Warren, OH is 0.4% more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna, WV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.4 vs 87.1). A $100,000 salary in Parkersburg-Vienna buys about the same as $100,377 in Youngstown-Warren; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.1 (Parkersburg-Vienna) vs 87.4 (Youngstown-Warren)
- $100k in Parkersburg-Vienna ≈ $100,377 purchasing power in Youngstown-Warren
- Rents drives the gap (+7.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WV:OH 87.1→87.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WV × OH
- 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.
Parkersburg-Vienna
87.1
Cost Index
Youngstown-Warren
87.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV and Youngstown-Warren, OH are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Youngstown-Warren is 7.6 points higher. But 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 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 Parkersburg-Vienna corresponds to $100,377 in Youngstown-Warren.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 96.3
- Youngstown-Warren
- 93.6
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 92.9
- Youngstown-Warren
- 96.3
Diff +3.4 RPP
Rents
- Parkersburg-Vienna
- 45.9
- Youngstown-Warren
- 53.4
Diff +7.6 RPP
| Category | Parkersburg-Vienna | Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.1 | 87.4 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 93.6 | -2.6 |
| Services | 92.9 | 96.3 | +3.4 |
| Rents | 45.9 | 53.4 | +7.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Parkersburg-Vienna 87.1
Youngstown-Warren 87.4
Goods
Parkersburg-Vienna 96.3
Youngstown-Warren 93.6
Services
Parkersburg-Vienna 92.9
Youngstown-Warren 96.3
Rents
Parkersburg-Vienna 45.9
Youngstown-Warren 53.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Parkersburg-Vienna and Youngstown-Warren share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.2 to 0.3 RPP points. Youngstown-Warren remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 21.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (24.8 to 3.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Parkersburg-Vienna RPP | Youngstown-Warren RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 87.0 | 91.3 | 4.2 points Youngstown-Warren higher |
| 2012 | 91.6 | 90.8 | 0.9 points Parkersburg-Vienna higher |
| 2016 | 92.7 | 87.8 | 4.9 points Parkersburg-Vienna higher |
| 2020 | 86.2 | 86.1 | 0.1 points Parkersburg-Vienna higher |
| 2024 | 87.1 | 87.4 | 0.3 points Youngstown-Warren 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 Parkersburg-Vienna would need to be in Youngstown-Warren for the same purchasing power:
| In Parkersburg-Vienna | In Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,188 | +$188 |
| $75,000 | $75,283 | +$283 |
| $100,000 | $100,377 | +$377 |
| $150,000 | $150,565 | +$565 |
$ in Parkersburg-Vienna = in Youngstown-Warren
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.1 → 87.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Youngstown-Warren more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna?
Youngstown-Warren is 0.4% more expensive than Parkersburg-Vienna. The overall cost index is 87.4 vs 87.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Youngstown-Warren equals $100K in Parkersburg-Vienna?
A $100,000 salary in Parkersburg-Vienna has the same purchasing power as $100,377 in Youngstown-Warren. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Parkersburg-Vienna and Youngstown-Warren?
Rents in Parkersburg-Vienna are indexed at 45.9 while Youngstown-Warren is at 53.4 (national average = 100). Youngstown-Warren 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.