Overall
- Sumter
- 88.0
- Hattiesburg
- 87.6
Diff -0.4 RPP
Sumter vs Hattiesburg
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hattiesburg is 0.4% less expensive than Sumter.
0.4% less expensive
Hattiesburg, MS is 0.4% less expensive than Sumter, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.6 vs 88.0). A $100,000 salary in Sumter buys about the same as $99,560 in Hattiesburg; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 88.0 (Sumter) vs 87.6 (Hattiesburg)
- $100k in Sumter ≈ $99,560 purchasing power in Hattiesburg
- Services drives the gap (-10.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:MS 88.0→87.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × MS
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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
Hattiesburg
87.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Sumter, SC and Hattiesburg, MS 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.
Services leads the difference, with Hattiesburg 10.4 points lower than Sumter. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 Sumter to $99,560 in Hattiesburg, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Sumter
- 96.3
- Hattiesburg
- 96.2
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Sumter
- 87.3
- Hattiesburg
- 76.9
Diff -10.4 RPP
Rents
- Sumter
- 60.8
- Hattiesburg
- 60.1
Diff -0.8 RPP
| Category | Sumter | Hattiesburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.0 | 87.6 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.2 | -0.1 |
| Services | 87.3 | 76.9 | -10.4 |
| Rents | 60.8 | 60.1 | -0.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Sumter 88.0
Hattiesburg 87.6
Goods
Sumter 96.3
Hattiesburg 96.2
Services
Sumter 87.3
Hattiesburg 76.9
Rents
Sumter 60.8
Hattiesburg 60.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Sumter would need to be in Hattiesburg for the same purchasing power:
| In Sumter | In Hattiesburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,780 | $-220 |
| $75,000 | $74,670 | $-330 |
| $100,000 | $99,560 | $-440 |
| $150,000 | $149,340 | $-660 |
$ in Sumter = in Hattiesburg
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.0 → 87.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hattiesburg more expensive than Sumter?
Hattiesburg is 0.4% less expensive than Sumter. The overall cost index is 87.6 vs 88.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hattiesburg equals $100K in Sumter?
A $100,000 salary in Sumter has the same purchasing power as $99,560 in Hattiesburg. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Sumter and Hattiesburg?
Rents in Sumter are indexed at 60.8 while Hattiesburg is at 60.1 (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.