Overall
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 98.7
Diff +5.1 RPP
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre vs Harrisburg-Carlisle
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Harrisburg-Carlisle is 5.4% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre.
5.4% more expensive
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA is 5.4% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.7 vs 93.6). A $100,000 salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre buys about the same as $105,445 in Harrisburg-Carlisle; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.6 (Scranton--Wilkes-Barre) vs 98.7 (Harrisburg-Carlisle)
- $100k in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre ≈ $105,445 purchasing power in Harrisburg-Carlisle
- Rents drives the gap (+29.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:PA 93.6→98.7
TIER-NEAR · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- SAME-STATE Same state · PA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 100.7
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 100.7
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 106.5
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 108.1
Diff +1.5 RPP
Rents
- Harrisburg-Carlisle
- 96.3
Diff +29.3 RPP
| Category | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Harrisburg-Carlisle | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.6 | 98.7 | +5.1 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 100.7 | 0.0 |
| Services | 106.5 | 108.1 | +1.5 |
| Rents | 67.0 | 96.3 | +29.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 93.6
Harrisburg-Carlisle 98.7
Goods
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 100.7
Harrisburg-Carlisle 100.7
Services
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 106.5
Harrisburg-Carlisle 108.1
Rents
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 67.0
Harrisburg-Carlisle 96.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Harrisburg-Carlisle is 29.3 points higher. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA is 5.4% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.1-point overall gap.
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.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre corresponds to $105,445 in Harrisburg-Carlisle.
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
93.6
Cost Index
Harrisburg-Carlisle
98.7
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre would need to be in Harrisburg-Carlisle for the same purchasing power:
| In Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | In Harrisburg-Carlisle | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,722 | +$2,722 |
| $75,000 | $79,084 | +$4,084 |
| $100,000 | $105,445 | +$5,445 |
| $150,000 | $158,167 | +$8,167 |
$ in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre = in Harrisburg-Carlisle
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.6 → 98.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg-Carlisle share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 3.9 to 5.1 RPP points. Harrisburg-Carlisle remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 10.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (18.4 to 29.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre RPP | Harrisburg-Carlisle RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.1 | 99.0 | 3.9 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2012 | 94.0 | 97.0 | 3.0 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2016 | 94.8 | 98.2 | 3.3 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2020 | 93.1 | 96.1 | 3.1 points Harrisburg-Carlisle higher |
| 2024 | 93.6 | 98.7 | 5.1 points Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Harrisburg-Carlisle more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre?
Harrisburg-Carlisle is 5.4% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre. The overall cost index is 98.7 vs 93.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle equals $100K in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre?
A $100,000 salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre has the same purchasing power as $105,445 in Harrisburg-Carlisle. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Scranton--Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg-Carlisle?
Rents in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre are indexed at 67.0 while Harrisburg-Carlisle is at 96.3 (national average = 100). Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.