Overall
- Topeka
- 88.8
- Huntington-Ashland
- 88.4
Diff -0.4 RPP
Topeka vs Huntington-Ashland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Huntington-Ashland is 0.4% less expensive than Topeka.
0.4% less expensive
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH is 0.4% less expensive than Topeka, KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.4 vs 88.8). A $100,000 salary in Topeka buys about the same as $99,552 in Huntington-Ashland; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 88.8 (Topeka) vs 88.4 (Huntington-Ashland)
- $100k in Topeka ≈ $99,552 purchasing power in Huntington-Ashland
- Rents drives the gap (-13.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KS:WV 88.8→88.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE KS × WV
- 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.
Topeka
88.8
Cost Index
Huntington-Ashland
88.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Topeka, KS and Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 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: Huntington-Ashland is 13.7 points lower. But 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 Topeka corresponds to $99,552 in Huntington-Ashland.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Topeka
- 94.0
- Huntington-Ashland
- 96.3
Diff +2.3 RPP
Services
- Topeka
- 88.9
- Huntington-Ashland
- 87.9
Diff -1.1 RPP
Rents
- Topeka
- 65.0
- Huntington-Ashland
- 51.3
Diff -13.7 RPP
| Category | Topeka | Huntington-Ashland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 88.8 | 88.4 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 94.0 | 96.3 | +2.3 |
| Services | 88.9 | 87.9 | -1.1 |
| Rents | 65.0 | 51.3 | -13.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Topeka 88.8
Huntington-Ashland 88.4
Goods
Topeka 94.0
Huntington-Ashland 96.3
Services
Topeka 88.9
Huntington-Ashland 87.9
Rents
Topeka 65.0
Huntington-Ashland 51.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Topeka and Huntington-Ashland share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.5 to 0.4 RPP points. Topeka remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 13.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (14.1 to 1.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Topeka RPP | Huntington-Ashland RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 91.5 | 88.0 | 3.5 points Topeka higher |
| 2012 | 91.6 | 89.5 | 2.1 points Topeka higher |
| 2016 | 89.9 | 90.3 | 0.4 points Huntington-Ashland higher |
| 2020 | 90.1 | 86.9 | 3.3 points Topeka higher |
| 2024 | 88.8 | 88.4 | 0.4 points Topeka 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 Topeka would need to be in Huntington-Ashland for the same purchasing power:
| In Topeka | In Huntington-Ashland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,776 | $-224 |
| $75,000 | $74,664 | $-336 |
| $100,000 | $99,552 | $-448 |
| $150,000 | $149,328 | $-672 |
$ in Topeka = in Huntington-Ashland
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (88.8 → 88.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Huntington-Ashland more expensive than Topeka?
Huntington-Ashland is 0.4% less expensive than Topeka. The overall cost index is 88.4 vs 88.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Huntington-Ashland equals $100K in Topeka?
A $100,000 salary in Topeka has the same purchasing power as $99,552 in Huntington-Ashland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Topeka and Huntington-Ashland?
Rents in Topeka are indexed at 65.0 while Huntington-Ashland is at 51.3 (national average = 100). Topeka 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.