Overall
- Punta Gorda
- 100.5
Diff +0.4 RPP
Punta Gorda vs Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 0.4% more expensive than Punta Gorda.
0.4% more expensive
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL is 0.4% more expensive than Punta Gorda, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.9 vs 100.5). A $100,000 salary in Punta Gorda buys about the same as $100,363 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.5 (Punta Gorda) vs 100.9 (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater)
- $100k in Punta Gorda ≈ $100,363 purchasing power in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
- Rents drives the gap (+12.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:FL 100.5→100.9
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · FL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Punta Gorda
100.5
Cost Index
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
100.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Punta Gorda, FL and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 12.6 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Punta Gorda corresponds to $100,363 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Punta Gorda
- 96.2
Diff -0.8 RPP
Services
- Punta Gorda
- 87.3
Diff +1.2 RPP
Rents
- Punta Gorda
- 113.3
Diff +12.6 RPP
| Category | Punta Gorda | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.5 | 100.9 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 95.5 | -0.8 |
| Services | 87.3 | 88.5 | +1.2 |
| Rents | 113.3 | 125.8 | +12.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Punta Gorda 100.5
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 100.9
Goods
Punta Gorda 96.2
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 95.5
Services
Punta Gorda 87.3
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 88.5
Rents
Punta Gorda 113.3
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 125.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Punta Gorda would need to be in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater for the same purchasing power:
| In Punta Gorda | In Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,182 | +$182 |
| $75,000 | $75,272 | +$272 |
| $100,000 | $100,363 | +$363 |
| $150,000 | $150,545 | +$545 |
$ in Punta Gorda = in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.5 → 100.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater more expensive than Punta Gorda?
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is 0.4% more expensive than Punta Gorda. The overall cost index is 100.9 vs 100.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater equals $100K in Punta Gorda?
A $100,000 salary in Punta Gorda has the same purchasing power as $100,363 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Punta Gorda and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater?
Rents in Punta Gorda are indexed at 113.3 while Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is at 125.8 (national average = 100). Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 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.