Overall
- Pittsburgh
- 94.7
Diff -0.5 RPP
Pittsburgh vs Hagerstown-Martinsburg
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 0.5% less expensive than Pittsburgh.
0.5% less expensive
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV is 0.5% less expensive than Pittsburgh, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 94.2 vs 94.7). A $100,000 salary in Pittsburgh buys about the same as $99,472 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.7 (Pittsburgh) vs 94.2 (Hagerstown-Martinsburg)
- $100k in Pittsburgh ≈ $99,472 purchasing power in Hagerstown-Martinsburg
- Services drives the gap (-12.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:MD 94.7→94.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × MD
- 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.
Pittsburgh
94.7
Cost Index
Hagerstown-Martinsburg
94.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Pittsburgh, PA and Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 12.0 points lower. But rents 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Pittsburgh to $99,472 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Pittsburgh
- 100.7
Diff -4.3 RPP
Services
- Pittsburgh
- 107.7
Diff -12.0 RPP
Rents
- Pittsburgh
- 72.0
Diff +3.8 RPP
| Category | Pittsburgh | Hagerstown-Martinsburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.7 | 94.2 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 96.4 | -4.3 |
| Services | 107.7 | 95.7 | -12.0 |
| Rents | 72.0 | 75.7 | +3.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Pittsburgh 94.7
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 94.2
Goods
Pittsburgh 100.7
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 96.4
Services
Pittsburgh 107.7
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 95.7
Rents
Pittsburgh 72.0
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 75.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Pittsburgh would need to be in Hagerstown-Martinsburg for the same purchasing power:
| In Pittsburgh | In Hagerstown-Martinsburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,736 | $-264 |
| $75,000 | $74,604 | $-396 |
| $100,000 | $99,472 | $-528 |
| $150,000 | $149,208 | $-792 |
$ in Pittsburgh = in Hagerstown-Martinsburg
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.7 → 94.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hagerstown-Martinsburg more expensive than Pittsburgh?
Hagerstown-Martinsburg is 0.5% less expensive than Pittsburgh. The overall cost index is 94.2 vs 94.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hagerstown-Martinsburg equals $100K in Pittsburgh?
A $100,000 salary in Pittsburgh has the same purchasing power as $99,472 in Hagerstown-Martinsburg. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Pittsburgh and Hagerstown-Martinsburg?
Rents in Pittsburgh are indexed at 72.0 while Hagerstown-Martinsburg is at 75.7 (national average = 100). Hagerstown-Martinsburg 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.