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Rome vs Abilene

Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Abilene is 0.2% more expensive than Rome.

0.2% more expensive

Abilene, TX is 0.2% more expensive than Rome, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.4 vs 90.2). A $100,000 salary in Rome buys about the same as $100,225 in Abilene; the largest component gap is rents.

  • Overall RPP 90.2 (Rome) vs 90.4 (Abilene)
  • $100k in Rome ≈ $100,225 purchasing power in Abilene
  • Rents drives the gap (+13.5 RPP points)

RPP parity plate

Pair GA:TX 90.2→90.4

PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR

  • PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
  • CROSS-STATE GA × TX
  • 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.

Rome
90.2
Cost Index
Abilene
90.4
Cost Index

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

Rome, GA and Abilene, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.

Rents creates the largest separation: Abilene is 13.5 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 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 Rome corresponds to $100,225 in Abilene.

Category Breakdown

Visual Comparison

Overall
Rome
90.2
Abilene
90.4
Goods
Rome
96.3
Abilene
93.8
Services
Rome
90.7
Abilene
81.2
Rents
Rome
60.3
Abilene
73.8

Vertical line = national average (100)

Salary Equivalents

What a salary in Rome would need to be in Abilene for the same purchasing power:

In Rome In Abilene Difference
$50,000 $50,113 +$113
$75,000 $75,169 +$169
$100,000 $100,225 +$225
$150,000 $150,338 +$338
$ in Rome = – in Abilene

Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.2 → 90.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Reverse: Abilene → Rome Rome Details Abilene Details

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Abilene more expensive than Rome?

Abilene is 0.2% more expensive than Rome. The overall cost index is 90.4 vs 90.2 (national average = 100).

What salary in Abilene equals $100K in Rome?

A $100,000 salary in Rome has the same purchasing power as $100,225 in Abilene. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.

How do rents compare between Rome and Abilene?

Rents in Rome are indexed at 60.3 while Abilene is at 73.8 (national average = 100). Abilene has higher rents.

Data sources

Data sourced from official public datasets, Regional Price Parities (2024), index where national average = 100. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCost. See our methodology for details.

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.