Pinehurst-Southern Pines vs Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is 28.6% more expensive than Pinehurst-Southern Pines.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is 28.6% more expensive than Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 113.6 vs 88.3). A $100,000 salary in Pinehurst-Southern Pines buys about the same as $128,561 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.3 (Pinehurst-Southern Pines) vs 113.6 (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim)
- $100k in Pinehurst-Southern Pines ≈ $128,561 purchasing power in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
- Rents drives the gap (+111.1 RPP points)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Pinehurst-Southern Pines would need to be in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim for the same purchasing power:
| In Pinehurst-Southern Pines | In Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $64,281 | +$14,281 |
| $75,000 | $96,421 | +$21,421 |
| $100,000 | $128,561 | +$28,561 |
| $150,000 | $192,842 | +$42,842 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.3 → 113.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 25.2 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is above 100 while Pinehurst-Southern Pines is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 111.1 points higher than Pinehurst-Southern Pines. 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 Pinehurst-Southern Pines corresponds to $128,561 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim.
Category Breakdown
| Category | Pinehurst-Southern Pines | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.3 | 113.6 | +25.2 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 106.6 | +10.0 |
| Services | 88.2 | 158.6 | +70.4 |
| Rents | 59.3 | 170.4 | +111.1 |
Visual Comparison
Vertical line = national average (100)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim more expensive than Pinehurst-Southern Pines?
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is 28.6% more expensive than Pinehurst-Southern Pines. The overall cost index is 113.6 vs 88.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim equals $100K in Pinehurst-Southern Pines?
A $100,000 salary in Pinehurst-Southern Pines has the same purchasing power as $128,561 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Pinehurst-Southern Pines and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?
Rents in Pinehurst-Southern Pines are indexed at 59.3 while Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is at 170.4 (national average = 100). Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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.