Overall
Diff -0.4 RPP
Sumter vs Albany
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Albany is 0.4% less expensive than Sumter.
0.4% less expensive
Albany, GA is 0.4% less expensive than Sumter, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.7 vs 88.0). A $100,000 salary in Sumter buys about the same as $99,601 in Albany; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.0 (Sumter) vs 87.7 (Albany)
- $100k in Sumter ≈ $99,601 purchasing power in Albany
- Rents drives the gap (-6.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:GA 88.0→87.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × GA
- 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.
Sumter
88.0
Cost Index
Albany
87.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Sumter, SC and Albany, GA 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: Albany is 6.2 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 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 Sumter corresponds to $99,601 in Albany.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
Diff +1.0 RPP
Rents
Diff -6.2 RPP
| Category | Sumter | Albany | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.0 | 87.7 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.3 | -0.1 |
| Services | 87.3 | 88.3 | +1.0 |
| Rents | 60.8 | 54.6 | -6.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Sumter 88.0
Albany 87.7
Goods
Sumter 96.3
Albany 96.3
Services
Sumter 87.3
Albany 88.3
Rents
Sumter 60.8
Albany 54.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Sumter would need to be in Albany for the same purchasing power:
| In Sumter | In Albany | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,801 | $-199 |
| $75,000 | $74,701 | $-299 |
| $100,000 | $99,601 | $-399 |
| $150,000 | $149,402 | $-598 |
$ in Sumter = in Albany
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.0 → 87.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Albany more expensive than Sumter?
Albany is 0.4% less expensive than Sumter. The overall cost index is 87.7 vs 88.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Albany equals $100K in Sumter?
A $100,000 salary in Sumter has the same purchasing power as $99,601 in Albany. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Sumter and Albany?
Rents in Sumter are indexed at 60.8 while Albany is at 54.6 (national average = 100). Sumter 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.