Overall
- Pittsfield
- 95.1
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 94.7
Diff -0.4 RPP
Pittsfield vs Lewiston-Auburn
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lewiston-Auburn is 0.4% less expensive than Pittsfield.
0.4% less expensive
Lewiston-Auburn, ME is 0.4% less expensive than Pittsfield, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 94.7 vs 95.1). A $100,000 salary in Pittsfield buys about the same as $99,611 in Lewiston-Auburn; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 95.1 (Pittsfield) vs 94.7 (Lewiston-Auburn)
- $100k in Pittsfield ≈ $99,611 purchasing power in Lewiston-Auburn
- Services drives the gap (-19.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:ME 95.1→94.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MA × ME
- 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.
Pittsfield
95.1
Cost Index
Lewiston-Auburn
94.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Pittsfield, MA and Lewiston-Auburn, ME are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Lewiston-Auburn is 19.3 points lower. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Pittsfield to $99,611 in Lewiston-Auburn, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Pittsfield
- 97.0
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 97.2
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Pittsfield
- 153.7
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 134.4
Diff -19.3 RPP
Rents
- Pittsfield
- 73.5
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 69.0
Diff -4.4 RPP
| Category | Pittsfield | Lewiston-Auburn | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.1 | 94.7 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 97.2 | +0.2 |
| Services | 153.7 | 134.4 | -19.3 |
| Rents | 73.5 | 69.0 | -4.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Pittsfield 95.1
Lewiston-Auburn 94.7
Goods
Pittsfield 97.0
Lewiston-Auburn 97.2
Services
Pittsfield 153.7
Lewiston-Auburn 134.4
Rents
Pittsfield 73.5
Lewiston-Auburn 69.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Pittsfield would need to be in Lewiston-Auburn for the same purchasing power:
| In Pittsfield | In Lewiston-Auburn | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,805 | $-195 |
| $75,000 | $74,708 | $-292 |
| $100,000 | $99,611 | $-389 |
| $150,000 | $149,416 | $-584 |
$ in Pittsfield = in Lewiston-Auburn
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.1 → 94.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lewiston-Auburn more expensive than Pittsfield?
Lewiston-Auburn is 0.4% less expensive than Pittsfield. The overall cost index is 94.7 vs 95.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lewiston-Auburn equals $100K in Pittsfield?
A $100,000 salary in Pittsfield has the same purchasing power as $99,611 in Lewiston-Auburn. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Pittsfield and Lewiston-Auburn?
Rents in Pittsfield are indexed at 73.5 while Lewiston-Auburn is at 69.0 (national average = 100). Pittsfield 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.