Overall
- St. Cloud
- 87.6
- Rocky Mount
- 88.0
Diff +0.4 RPP
St. Cloud vs Rocky Mount
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rocky Mount is 0.4% more expensive than St. Cloud.
0.4% more expensive
Rocky Mount, NC is 0.4% more expensive than St. Cloud, MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 87.6). A $100,000 salary in St. Cloud buys about the same as $100,434 in Rocky Mount; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.6 (St. Cloud) vs 88.0 (Rocky Mount)
- $100k in St. Cloud ≈ $100,434 purchasing power in Rocky Mount
- Rents drives the gap (-9.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MN:NC 87.6→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MN × NC
- 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.
St. Cloud
87.6
Cost Index
Rocky Mount
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
St. Cloud, MN and Rocky Mount, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Rocky Mount is 9.0 points lower. But rents and 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 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 St. Cloud corresponds to $100,434 in Rocky Mount.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- St. Cloud
- 95.4
- Rocky Mount
- 96.6
Diff +1.2 RPP
Services
- St. Cloud
- 88.7
- Rocky Mount
- 88.4
Diff -0.3 RPP
Rents
- St. Cloud
- 65.1
- Rocky Mount
- 56.1
Diff -9.0 RPP
| Category | St. Cloud | Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.6 | 88.0 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 96.6 | +1.2 |
| Services | 88.7 | 88.4 | -0.3 |
| Rents | 65.1 | 56.1 | -9.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
St. Cloud 87.6
Rocky Mount 88.0
Goods
St. Cloud 95.4
Rocky Mount 96.6
Services
St. Cloud 88.7
Rocky Mount 88.4
Rents
St. Cloud 65.1
Rocky Mount 56.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in St. Cloud would need to be in Rocky Mount for the same purchasing power:
| In St. Cloud | In Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,217 | +$217 |
| $75,000 | $75,325 | +$325 |
| $100,000 | $100,434 | +$434 |
| $150,000 | $150,650 | +$650 |
$ in St. Cloud = in Rocky Mount
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.6 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rocky Mount more expensive than St. Cloud?
Rocky Mount is 0.4% more expensive than St. Cloud. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 87.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rocky Mount equals $100K in St. Cloud?
A $100,000 salary in St. Cloud has the same purchasing power as $100,434 in Rocky Mount. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between St. Cloud and Rocky Mount?
Rents in St. Cloud are indexed at 65.1 while Rocky Mount is at 56.1 (national average = 100). St. Cloud 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.