Overall
- Springfield
- 96.1
Diff +2.2 RPP
Springfield vs Prescott Valley-Prescott
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Prescott Valley-Prescott is 2.3% more expensive than Springfield.
2.3% more expensive
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ is 2.3% more expensive than Springfield, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 96.1). A $100,000 salary in Springfield buys about the same as $102,284 in Prescott Valley-Prescott; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.1 (Springfield) vs 98.3 (Prescott Valley-Prescott)
- $100k in Springfield ≈ $102,284 purchasing power in Prescott Valley-Prescott
- Services drives the gap (-63.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:AZ 96.1→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MA × AZ
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Springfield
- 97.0
Diff -0.8 RPP
Services
- Springfield
- 155.0
Diff -63.5 RPP
Rents
- Springfield
- 75.8
Diff +23.0 RPP
| Category | Springfield | Prescott Valley-Prescott | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.1 | 98.3 | +2.2 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 96.2 | -0.8 |
| Services | 155.0 | 91.5 | -63.5 |
| Rents | 75.8 | 98.8 | +23.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Springfield 96.1
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.3
Goods
Springfield 97.0
Prescott Valley-Prescott 96.2
Services
Springfield 155.0
Prescott Valley-Prescott 91.5
Rents
Springfield 75.8
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Prescott Valley-Prescott is 63.5 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ is 2.3% more expensive than Springfield, MA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.2-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 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 $102,284 in Prescott Valley-Prescott, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Springfield
96.1
Cost Index
Prescott Valley-Prescott
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Springfield would need to be in Prescott Valley-Prescott for the same purchasing power:
| In Springfield | In Prescott Valley-Prescott | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,142 | +$1,142 |
| $75,000 | $76,713 | +$1,713 |
| $100,000 | $102,284 | +$2,284 |
| $150,000 | $153,426 | +$3,426 |
$ in Springfield = in Prescott Valley-Prescott
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.1 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Springfield and Prescott Valley-Prescott share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.5 to 2.2 RPP points. Prescott Valley-Prescott remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 10.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (52.9 to 63.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Springfield RPP | Prescott Valley-Prescott RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.5 | 103.0 | 3.5 points Prescott Valley-Prescott higher |
| 2012 | 97.8 | 96.5 | 1.2 points Springfield higher |
| 2016 | 99.4 | 98.6 | 0.8 points Springfield higher |
| 2020 | 99.1 | 93.2 | 5.9 points Springfield higher |
| 2024 | 96.1 | 98.3 | 2.2 points Prescott Valley-Prescott 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 Prescott Valley-Prescott more expensive than Springfield?
Prescott Valley-Prescott is 2.3% more expensive than Springfield. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 96.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott equals $100K in Springfield?
A $100,000 salary in Springfield has the same purchasing power as $102,284 in Prescott Valley-Prescott. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Springfield and Prescott Valley-Prescott?
Rents in Springfield are indexed at 75.8 while Prescott Valley-Prescott is at 98.8 (national average = 100). Prescott Valley-Prescott 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.