Overall
- Sumter
- 88.0
Diff +0.3 RPP
Sumter vs Pinehurst-Southern Pines
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Pinehurst-Southern Pines is 0.4% more expensive than Sumter.
0.4% more expensive
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC is 0.4% more expensive than Sumter, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.3 vs 88.0). A $100,000 salary in Sumter buys about the same as $100,359 in Pinehurst-Southern Pines; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.0 (Sumter) vs 88.3 (Pinehurst-Southern Pines)
- $100k in Sumter ≈ $100,359 purchasing power in Pinehurst-Southern Pines
- Rents drives the gap (-1.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:NC 88.0→88.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × 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.
Sumter
88.0
Cost Index
Pinehurst-Southern Pines
88.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Sumter, SC and Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Pinehurst-Southern Pines is 1.5 points lower. But rents 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 $100,359 in Pinehurst-Southern Pines.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Sumter
- 96.3
Diff +0.3 RPP
Services
- Sumter
- 87.3
Diff +0.9 RPP
Rents
- Sumter
- 60.8
Diff -1.5 RPP
| Category | Sumter | Pinehurst-Southern Pines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.0 | 88.3 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.6 | +0.3 |
| Services | 87.3 | 88.2 | +0.9 |
| Rents | 60.8 | 59.3 | -1.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Sumter 88.0
Pinehurst-Southern Pines 88.3
Goods
Sumter 96.3
Pinehurst-Southern Pines 96.6
Services
Sumter 87.3
Pinehurst-Southern Pines 88.2
Rents
Sumter 60.8
Pinehurst-Southern Pines 59.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Sumter would need to be in Pinehurst-Southern Pines for the same purchasing power:
| In Sumter | In Pinehurst-Southern Pines | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,180 | +$180 |
| $75,000 | $75,269 | +$269 |
| $100,000 | $100,359 | +$359 |
| $150,000 | $150,539 | +$539 |
$ in Sumter = in Pinehurst-Southern Pines
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.0 → 88.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pinehurst-Southern Pines more expensive than Sumter?
Pinehurst-Southern Pines is 0.4% more expensive than Sumter. The overall cost index is 88.3 vs 88.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Pinehurst-Southern Pines equals $100K in Sumter?
A $100,000 salary in Sumter has the same purchasing power as $100,359 in Pinehurst-Southern Pines. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Sumter and Pinehurst-Southern Pines?
Rents in Sumter are indexed at 60.8 while Pinehurst-Southern Pines is at 59.3 (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.