Overall
- New Haven
- 104.6
Diff -2.1 RPP
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom vs New Haven
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. New Haven is 2% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom.
2% less expensive
New Haven, CT is 2% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 104.6 vs 106.7). A $100,000 salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom buys about the same as $98,021 in New Haven; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 106.7 (Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom) vs 104.6 (New Haven)
- $100k in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom ≈ $98,021 purchasing power in New Haven
- Goods drives the gap (-7.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:CT 106.7→104.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · GOODS-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CA × CT
- GOODS-LED Goods-led gap
- 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
New Haven, CT is 2% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.1-point overall gap.
Goods leads the difference, with New Haven 7.8 points lower than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom. 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.
For a goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $98,021 in New Haven as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, then replace the national basket with your own.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom would need to be in New Haven for the same purchasing power:
| In Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | In New Haven | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,010 | $-990 |
| $75,000 | $73,516 | $-1,484 |
| $100,000 | $98,021 | $-1,979 |
| $150,000 | $147,031 | $-2,969 |
$ in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom = in New Haven
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (106.7 → 104.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- New Haven
- 97.3
Diff -7.8 RPP
Services
- New Haven
- 144.8
Diff -6.4 RPP
Rents
- New Haven
- 124.3
Diff -5.9 RPP
| Category | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | New Haven | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 106.7 | 104.6 | -2.1 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 97.3 | -7.8 |
| Services | 151.3 | 144.8 | -6.4 |
| Rents | 130.2 | 124.3 | -5.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 106.7
New Haven 104.6
Goods
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 105.2
New Haven 97.3
Services
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 151.3
New Haven 144.8
Rents
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 130.2
New Haven 124.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
106.7
Cost Index
New Haven
104.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New Haven more expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom?
New Haven is 2% less expensive than Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom. The overall cost index is 104.6 vs 106.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in New Haven equals $100K in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom?
A $100,000 salary in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom has the same purchasing power as $98,021 in New Haven. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom and New Haven?
Rents in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom are indexed at 130.2 while New Haven is at 124.3 (national average = 100). Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom 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.