Overall
- Roanoke
- 93.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Roanoke vs Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is 0.1% less expensive than Roanoke.
0.1% less expensive
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA is 0.1% less expensive than Roanoke, VA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.6 vs 93.6). A $100,000 salary in Roanoke buys about the same as $99,934 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 93.6 (Roanoke) vs 93.6 (Scranton--Wilkes-Barre)
- $100k in Roanoke ≈ $99,934 purchasing power in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- Services drives the gap (+17.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair VA:PA 93.6→93.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE VA × PA
- 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.
Roanoke
93.6
Cost Index
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
93.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Roanoke, VA and Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is 17.6 points higher. But services and 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 Roanoke to $99,934 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Roanoke
- 96.8
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 100.7
Diff +3.9 RPP
Services
- Roanoke
- 88.9
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 106.5
Diff +17.6 RPP
Rents
- Roanoke
- 78.5
Diff -11.5 RPP
| Category | Roanoke | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.6 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 100.7 | +3.9 |
| Services | 88.9 | 106.5 | +17.6 |
| Rents | 78.5 | 67.0 | -11.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Roanoke 93.6
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 93.6
Goods
Roanoke 96.8
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 100.7
Services
Roanoke 88.9
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 106.5
Rents
Roanoke 78.5
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 67.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Roanoke would need to be in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre for the same purchasing power:
| In Roanoke | In Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,967 | $-33 |
| $75,000 | $74,950 | $-50 |
| $100,000 | $99,934 | $-66 |
| $150,000 | $149,901 | $-99 |
$ in Roanoke = in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.6 → 93.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Scranton--Wilkes-Barre more expensive than Roanoke?
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is 0.1% less expensive than Roanoke. The overall cost index is 93.6 vs 93.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre equals $100K in Roanoke?
A $100,000 salary in Roanoke has the same purchasing power as $99,934 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Roanoke and Scranton--Wilkes-Barre?
Rents in Roanoke are indexed at 78.5 while Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is at 67.0 (national average = 100). Roanoke 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.