Overall
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 92.9
- Binghamton
- 92.9
Diff +0.0 RPP
South Bend-Mishawaka vs Binghamton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Binghamton is 0% more expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka.
0% more expensive
Binghamton, NY is 0% more expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.9 vs 92.9). A $100,000 salary in South Bend-Mishawaka buys about the same as $100,005 in Binghamton; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.9 (South Bend-Mishawaka) vs 92.9 (Binghamton)
- $100k in South Bend-Mishawaka ≈ $100,005 purchasing power in Binghamton
- Services drives the gap (+43.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IN:NY 92.9→92.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IN × NY
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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.
South Bend-Mishawaka
92.9
Cost Index
Binghamton
92.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI and Binghamton, NY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Binghamton is 43.8 points higher. But rents 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 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.
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 South Bend-Mishawaka to $100,005 in Binghamton, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 94.2
- Binghamton
- 99.7
Diff +5.5 RPP
Services
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 87.7
- Binghamton
- 131.6
Diff +43.8 RPP
Rents
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 74.6
- Binghamton
- 69.7
Diff -4.9 RPP
| Category | South Bend-Mishawaka | Binghamton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.9 | 92.9 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 99.7 | +5.5 |
| Services | 87.7 | 131.6 | +43.8 |
| Rents | 74.6 | 69.7 | -4.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
South Bend-Mishawaka 92.9
Binghamton 92.9
Goods
South Bend-Mishawaka 94.2
Binghamton 99.7
Services
South Bend-Mishawaka 87.7
Binghamton 131.6
Rents
South Bend-Mishawaka 74.6
Binghamton 69.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
South Bend-Mishawaka and Binghamton share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.6 to 0.0 RPP points. Binghamton remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 8.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (51.8 to 43.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | South Bend-Mishawaka RPP | Binghamton RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.4 | 97.0 | 4.6 points Binghamton higher |
| 2012 | 90.4 | 94.9 | 4.5 points Binghamton higher |
| 2016 | 91.4 | 96.1 | 4.7 points Binghamton higher |
| 2020 | 91.5 | 96.9 | 5.4 points Binghamton higher |
| 2024 | 92.9 | 92.9 | 0.0 points Binghamton 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in South Bend-Mishawaka would need to be in Binghamton for the same purchasing power:
| In South Bend-Mishawaka | In Binghamton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,003 | +$3 |
| $75,000 | $75,004 | +$4 |
| $100,000 | $100,005 | +$5 |
| $150,000 | $150,008 | +$8 |
$ in South Bend-Mishawaka = in Binghamton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.9 → 92.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Binghamton more expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka?
Binghamton is 0% more expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka. The overall cost index is 92.9 vs 92.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Binghamton equals $100K in South Bend-Mishawaka?
A $100,000 salary in South Bend-Mishawaka has the same purchasing power as $100,005 in Binghamton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between South Bend-Mishawaka and Binghamton?
Rents in South Bend-Mishawaka are indexed at 74.6 while Binghamton is at 69.7 (national average = 100). South Bend-Mishawaka 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.