Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +4.7 RPP
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 5% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre.
5% more expensive
Merced, CA is 5% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 93.6). A $100,000 salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre buys about the same as $105,044 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 93.6 (Scranton--Wilkes-Barre) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre ≈ $105,044 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+51.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:CA 93.6→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Merced, CA is 5% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 4.7-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 51.8 points higher than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre. 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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre to $105,044 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.8 to 4.7 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 62.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (10.8 to 51.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.1 | 94.3 | 0.8 points Scranton--Wilkes-Barre higher |
| 2012 | 94.0 | 98.6 | 4.6 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 94.8 | 95.3 | 0.5 points Merced higher |
| 2020 | 93.1 | 98.7 | 5.7 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 93.6 | 98.3 | 4.7 points Merced 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
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 100.7
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +4.5 RPP
Services
- Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
- 106.5
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +51.8 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +11.6 RPP
| Category | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.6 | 98.3 | +4.7 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 105.2 | +4.5 |
| Services | 106.5 | 158.3 | +51.8 |
| Rents | 67.0 | 78.6 | +11.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 93.6
Merced 98.3
Goods
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 100.7
Merced 105.2
Services
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 106.5
Merced 158.3
Rents
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 67.0
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Scranton--Wilkes-Barre | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,522 | +$2,522 |
| $75,000 | $78,783 | +$3,783 |
| $100,000 | $105,044 | +$5,044 |
| $150,000 | $157,566 | +$7,566 |
$ in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.6 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
93.6
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre?
Merced is 5% more expensive than Scranton--Wilkes-Barre. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 93.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre?
A $100,000 salary in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre has the same purchasing power as $105,044 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Scranton--Wilkes-Barre and Merced?
Rents in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre are indexed at 67.0 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Merced 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.