Overall
- Raleigh-Cary
- 98.2
- St. George
- 97.3
Diff -0.8 RPP
Raleigh-Cary vs St. George
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. St. George is 0.9% less expensive than Raleigh-Cary.
0.9% less expensive
St. George, UT is 0.9% less expensive than Raleigh-Cary, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 98.2). A $100,000 salary in Raleigh-Cary buys about the same as $99,148 in St. George; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.2 (Raleigh-Cary) vs 97.3 (St. George)
- $100k in Raleigh-Cary ≈ $99,148 purchasing power in St. George
- Services drives the gap (-11.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:UT 98.2→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × UT
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Raleigh-Cary
98.2
Cost Index
St. George
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Raleigh-Cary, NC and St. George, UT are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.8 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with St. George 11.3 points lower than Raleigh-Cary. 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.
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 Raleigh-Cary to $99,148 in St. George, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Raleigh-Cary
- 96.6
- St. George
- 96.4
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
- Raleigh-Cary
- 89.0
- St. George
- 77.7
Diff -11.3 RPP
Rents
- Raleigh-Cary
- 103.5
- St. George
- 98.1
Diff -5.3 RPP
| Category | Raleigh-Cary | St. George | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.2 | 97.3 | -0.8 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.4 | -0.2 |
| Services | 89.0 | 77.7 | -11.3 |
| Rents | 103.5 | 98.1 | -5.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Raleigh-Cary 98.2
St. George 97.3
Goods
Raleigh-Cary 96.6
St. George 96.4
Services
Raleigh-Cary 89.0
St. George 77.7
Rents
Raleigh-Cary 103.5
St. George 98.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Raleigh-Cary would need to be in St. George for the same purchasing power:
| In Raleigh-Cary | In St. George | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,574 | $-426 |
| $75,000 | $74,361 | $-639 |
| $100,000 | $99,148 | $-852 |
| $150,000 | $148,722 | $-1,278 |
$ in Raleigh-Cary = in St. George
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.2 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is St. George more expensive than Raleigh-Cary?
St. George is 0.9% less expensive than Raleigh-Cary. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 98.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in St. George equals $100K in Raleigh-Cary?
A $100,000 salary in Raleigh-Cary has the same purchasing power as $99,148 in St. George. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Raleigh-Cary and St. George?
Rents in Raleigh-Cary are indexed at 103.5 while St. George is at 98.1 (national average = 100). Raleigh-Cary 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.