Overall
- Manchester-Nashua
- 105.7
Diff -2.9 RPP
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles vs Manchester-Nashua
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Manchester-Nashua is 2.7% less expensive than San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles.
2.7% less expensive
Manchester-Nashua, NH is 2.7% less expensive than San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.7 vs 108.6). A $100,000 salary in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles buys about the same as $97,294 in Manchester-Nashua; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 108.6 (San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles) vs 105.7 (Manchester-Nashua)
- $100k in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles ≈ $97,294 purchasing power in Manchester-Nashua
- Services drives the gap (-14.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:NH 108.6→105.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CA × NH
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Manchester-Nashua, NH is 2.7% less expensive than San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.9-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Manchester-Nashua 14.3 points lower than San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles to $97,294 in Manchester-Nashua, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles and Manchester-Nashua share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.9 to 2.9 RPP points. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 54.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (40.3 to 14.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles RPP | Manchester-Nashua RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.1 | 109.0 | 3.9 points Manchester-Nashua higher |
| 2012 | 107.2 | 104.2 | 3.1 points San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles higher |
| 2016 | 105.0 | 108.0 | 3.0 points Manchester-Nashua higher |
| 2020 | 111.3 | 104.8 | 6.6 points San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles higher |
| 2024 | 108.6 | 105.7 | 2.9 points San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Manchester-Nashua
- 97.7
Diff -7.5 RPP
Services
- Manchester-Nashua
- 133.5
Diff -14.3 RPP
Rents
- Manchester-Nashua
- 134.2
Diff -10.1 RPP
| Category | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Manchester-Nashua | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 108.6 | 105.7 | -2.9 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 97.7 | -7.5 |
| Services | 147.8 | 133.5 | -14.3 |
| Rents | 144.4 | 134.2 | -10.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 108.6
Manchester-Nashua 105.7
Goods
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 105.2
Manchester-Nashua 97.7
Services
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 147.8
Manchester-Nashua 133.5
Rents
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 144.4
Manchester-Nashua 134.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles would need to be in Manchester-Nashua for the same purchasing power:
| In San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | In Manchester-Nashua | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,647 | $-1,353 |
| $75,000 | $72,970 | $-2,030 |
| $100,000 | $97,294 | $-2,706 |
| $150,000 | $145,940 | $-4,060 |
$ in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles = in Manchester-Nashua
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (108.6 → 105.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles
108.6
Cost Index
Manchester-Nashua
105.7
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Manchester-Nashua more expensive than San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles?
Manchester-Nashua is 2.7% less expensive than San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles. The overall cost index is 105.7 vs 108.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Manchester-Nashua equals $100K in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles?
A $100,000 salary in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles has the same purchasing power as $97,294 in Manchester-Nashua. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles and Manchester-Nashua?
Rents in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles are indexed at 144.4 while Manchester-Nashua is at 134.2 (national average = 100). San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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.