Overall
- Rome
- 90.2
Diff +0.8 RPP
Rome vs College Station-Bryan
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. College Station-Bryan is 0.9% more expensive than Rome.
0.9% more expensive
College Station-Bryan, TX is 0.9% more expensive than Rome, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.0 vs 90.2). A $100,000 salary in Rome buys about the same as $100,876 in College Station-Bryan; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.2 (Rome) vs 91.0 (College Station-Bryan)
- $100k in Rome ≈ $100,876 purchasing power in College Station-Bryan
- Rents drives the gap (+14.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:TX 90.2→91.0
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
College Station-Bryan
91.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rome, GA and College Station-Bryan, TX 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: College Station-Bryan is 14.8 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 $100,876 in College Station-Bryan.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rome
- 96.3
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Rome
- 90.7
Diff -6.3 RPP
Rents
- Rome
- 60.3
Diff +14.8 RPP
| Category | Rome | College Station-Bryan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.2 | 91.0 | +0.8 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 93.8 | -2.5 |
| Services | 90.7 | 84.4 | -6.3 |
| Rents | 60.3 | 75.1 | +14.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rome 90.2
College Station-Bryan 91.0
Goods
Rome 96.3
College Station-Bryan 93.8
Services
Rome 90.7
College Station-Bryan 84.4
Rents
Rome 60.3
College Station-Bryan 75.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Rome and College Station-Bryan share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 7.2 to 0.8 RPP points. College Station-Bryan remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 21.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (15.1 to 6.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Rome RPP | College Station-Bryan RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 88.0 | 95.1 | 7.2 points College Station-Bryan higher |
| 2012 | 86.3 | 96.5 | 10.2 points College Station-Bryan higher |
| 2016 | 88.3 | 96.4 | 8.2 points College Station-Bryan higher |
| 2020 | 86.3 | 95.1 | 8.8 points College Station-Bryan higher |
| 2024 | 90.2 | 91.0 | 0.8 points College Station-Bryan higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Rome would need to be in College Station-Bryan for the same purchasing power:
| In Rome | In College Station-Bryan | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,438 | +$438 |
| $75,000 | $75,657 | +$657 |
| $100,000 | $100,876 | +$876 |
| $150,000 | $151,314 | +$1,314 |
$ in Rome = in College Station-Bryan
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.2 → 91.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is College Station-Bryan more expensive than Rome?
College Station-Bryan is 0.9% more expensive than Rome. The overall cost index is 91.0 vs 90.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in College Station-Bryan equals $100K in Rome?
A $100,000 salary in Rome has the same purchasing power as $100,876 in College Station-Bryan. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rome and College Station-Bryan?
Rents in Rome are indexed at 60.3 while College Station-Bryan is at 75.1 (national average = 100). College Station-Bryan 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.