Overall
- Terre Haute
- 87.8
- Tuscaloosa
- 87.7
Diff -0.1 RPP
Terre Haute vs Tuscaloosa
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Tuscaloosa is 0.1% less expensive than Terre Haute.
0.1% less expensive
Tuscaloosa, AL is 0.1% less expensive than Terre Haute, IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.7 vs 87.8). A $100,000 salary in Terre Haute buys about the same as $99,915 in Tuscaloosa; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.8 (Terre Haute) vs 87.7 (Tuscaloosa)
- $100k in Terre Haute ≈ $99,915 purchasing power in Tuscaloosa
- Rents drives the gap (+6.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IN:AL 87.8→87.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IN × AL
- 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.
Terre Haute
87.8
Cost Index
Tuscaloosa
87.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Terre Haute, IN and Tuscaloosa, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Tuscaloosa is 6.3 points higher. But rents 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 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 Terre Haute corresponds to $99,915 in Tuscaloosa.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Terre Haute
- 94.3
- Tuscaloosa
- 96.4
Diff +2.1 RPP
Services
- Terre Haute
- 86.6
- Tuscaloosa
- 84.4
Diff -2.2 RPP
Rents
- Terre Haute
- 51.9
- Tuscaloosa
- 58.2
Diff +6.3 RPP
| Category | Terre Haute | Tuscaloosa | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.8 | 87.7 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 96.4 | +2.1 |
| Services | 86.6 | 84.4 | -2.2 |
| Rents | 51.9 | 58.2 | +6.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Terre Haute 87.8
Tuscaloosa 87.7
Goods
Terre Haute 94.3
Tuscaloosa 96.4
Services
Terre Haute 86.6
Tuscaloosa 84.4
Rents
Terre Haute 51.9
Tuscaloosa 58.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Terre Haute and Tuscaloosa share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.7 to 0.1 RPP points. Terre Haute remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 7.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (4.8 to 2.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Terre Haute RPP | Tuscaloosa RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.1 | 89.7 | 0.7 points Tuscaloosa higher |
| 2012 | 89.2 | 90.6 | 1.4 points Tuscaloosa higher |
| 2016 | 87.6 | 90.9 | 3.2 points Tuscaloosa higher |
| 2020 | 87.4 | 87.1 | 0.3 points Terre Haute higher |
| 2024 | 87.8 | 87.7 | 0.1 points Terre Haute higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Terre Haute would need to be in Tuscaloosa for the same purchasing power:
| In Terre Haute | In Tuscaloosa | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,957 | $-43 |
| $75,000 | $74,936 | $-64 |
| $100,000 | $99,915 | $-85 |
| $150,000 | $149,872 | $-128 |
$ in Terre Haute = in Tuscaloosa
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.8 → 87.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tuscaloosa more expensive than Terre Haute?
Tuscaloosa is 0.1% less expensive than Terre Haute. The overall cost index is 87.7 vs 87.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Tuscaloosa equals $100K in Terre Haute?
A $100,000 salary in Terre Haute has the same purchasing power as $99,915 in Tuscaloosa. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Terre Haute and Tuscaloosa?
Rents in Terre Haute are indexed at 51.9 while Tuscaloosa is at 58.2 (national average = 100). Tuscaloosa 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.