Overall
- Syracuse
- 95.7
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff +0.7 RPP
Syracuse vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 0.7% more expensive than Syracuse.
0.7% more expensive
Wilmington, NC is 0.7% more expensive than Syracuse, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 95.7). A $100,000 salary in Syracuse buys about the same as $100,710 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 95.7 (Syracuse) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Syracuse ≈ $100,710 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Services drives the gap (-45.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:NC 95.7→96.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × 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.
Syracuse
95.7
Cost Index
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Syracuse, NY and Wilmington, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Wilmington is 45.5 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.
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 Syracuse to $100,710 in Wilmington, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Syracuse
- 99.7
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff -3.1 RPP
Services
- Syracuse
- 133.4
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff -45.5 RPP
Rents
- Syracuse
- 80.7
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff +12.6 RPP
| Category | Syracuse | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.7 | 96.4 | +0.7 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 96.6 | -3.1 |
| Services | 133.4 | 87.9 | -45.5 |
| Rents | 80.7 | 93.2 | +12.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Syracuse 95.7
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Syracuse 99.7
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Syracuse 133.4
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Syracuse 80.7
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Syracuse would need to be in Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Syracuse | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,355 | +$355 |
| $75,000 | $75,533 | +$533 |
| $100,000 | $100,710 | +$710 |
| $150,000 | $151,065 | +$1,065 |
$ in Syracuse = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.7 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington more expensive than Syracuse?
Wilmington is 0.7% more expensive than Syracuse. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 95.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Syracuse?
A $100,000 salary in Syracuse has the same purchasing power as $100,710 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Syracuse and Wilmington?
Rents in Syracuse are indexed at 80.7 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (national average = 100). Wilmington 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.