Overall
- Springfield
- 92.7
- Huntsville
- 93.1
Diff +0.3 RPP
Springfield vs Huntsville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Huntsville is 0.4% more expensive than Springfield.
0.4% more expensive
Huntsville, AL is 0.4% more expensive than Springfield, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.1 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Springfield buys about the same as $100,353 in Huntsville; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.7 (Springfield) vs 93.1 (Huntsville)
- $100k in Springfield ≈ $100,353 purchasing power in Huntsville
- Services drives the gap (-6.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:AL 92.7→93.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × AL
- 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.
Springfield
92.7
Cost Index
Huntsville
93.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Springfield, IL and Huntsville, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Huntsville is 6.5 points lower. But services 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 Springfield to $100,353 in Huntsville, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Springfield
- 93.6
- Huntsville
- 96.4
Diff +2.8 RPP
Services
- Springfield
- 90.4
- Huntsville
- 83.9
Diff -6.5 RPP
Rents
- Springfield
- 71.6
- Huntsville
- 77.9
Diff +6.3 RPP
| Category | Springfield | Huntsville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 93.1 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 96.4 | +2.8 |
| Services | 90.4 | 83.9 | -6.5 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 77.9 | +6.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Springfield 92.7
Huntsville 93.1
Goods
Springfield 93.6
Huntsville 96.4
Services
Springfield 90.4
Huntsville 83.9
Rents
Springfield 71.6
Huntsville 77.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Springfield and Huntsville share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.9 to 0.3 RPP points. Huntsville remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 11.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (5.3 to 6.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Springfield RPP | Huntsville RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.0 | 92.1 | 2.9 points Springfield higher |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 94.0 | 0.7 points Huntsville higher |
| 2016 | 92.3 | 93.6 | 1.3 points Huntsville higher |
| 2020 | 90.9 | 90.7 | 0.2 points Springfield higher |
| 2024 | 92.7 | 93.1 | 0.3 points Huntsville 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 Springfield would need to be in Huntsville for the same purchasing power:
| In Springfield | In Huntsville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,176 | +$176 |
| $75,000 | $75,264 | +$264 |
| $100,000 | $100,353 | +$353 |
| $150,000 | $150,529 | +$529 |
$ in Springfield = in Huntsville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 93.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Huntsville more expensive than Springfield?
Huntsville is 0.4% more expensive than Springfield. The overall cost index is 93.1 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Huntsville equals $100K in Springfield?
A $100,000 salary in Springfield has the same purchasing power as $100,353 in Huntsville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Springfield and Huntsville?
Rents in Springfield are indexed at 71.6 while Huntsville is at 77.9 (national average = 100). Huntsville 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.