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Salem vs Albany

Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Albany is 1.5% less expensive than Salem.

1.5% less expensive

Albany, OR is 1.5% less expensive than Salem, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.1 vs 103.6). A $100,000 salary in Salem buys about the same as $98,506 in Albany; the largest component gap is rents.

  • Overall RPP 103.6 (Salem) vs 102.1 (Albany)
  • $100k in Salem ≈ $98,506 purchasing power in Albany
  • Rents drives the gap (-9.3 RPP points)

RPP parity plate

Pair OR:OR 103.6→102.1

PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR

  • PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
  • SAME-STATE Same state · OR
  • SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
  • 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.

Salem
103.6
Cost Index
Albany
102.1
Cost Index

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

Salem, OR and Albany, OR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.

Rents creates the largest separation: Albany is 9.3 points lower. 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 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.

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 Salem corresponds to $98,506 in Albany.

Category Breakdown

Visual Comparison

Overall
Salem
103.6
Albany
102.1
Goods
Salem
105.3
Albany
105.3
Services
Salem
104.7
Albany
104.8
Rents
Salem
110.3
Albany
101.1

Vertical line = national average (100)

Salary Equivalents

What a salary in Salem would need to be in Albany for the same purchasing power:

In Salem In Albany Difference
$50,000 $49,253 $-747
$75,000 $73,879 $-1,121
$100,000 $98,506 $-1,494
$150,000 $147,758 $-2,242
$ in Salem = – in Albany

Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.6 → 102.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Reverse: Albany → Salem Salem Details Albany Details

Also Compare

vs Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs Bend vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Wenatchee-East Wenatchee vs Bellingham vs Ithaca vs Fresno vs Portland-South Portland

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Albany more expensive than Salem?

Albany is 1.5% less expensive than Salem. The overall cost index is 102.1 vs 103.6 (national average = 100).

What salary in Albany equals $100K in Salem?

A $100,000 salary in Salem has the same purchasing power as $98,506 in Albany. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.

How do rents compare between Salem and Albany?

Rents in Salem are indexed at 110.3 while Albany is at 101.1 (national average = 100). Salem 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.