Overall
- Tuscaloosa
- 87.7
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
Diff +10.6 RPP
Tuscaloosa vs Barnstable Town
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Barnstable Town is 12.1% more expensive than Tuscaloosa.
12.1% more expensive
Barnstable Town, MA is 12.1% more expensive than Tuscaloosa, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.4 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa buys about the same as $112,117 in Barnstable Town; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Tuscaloosa) vs 98.4 (Barnstable Town)
- $100k in Tuscaloosa ≈ $112,117 purchasing power in Barnstable Town
- Services drives the gap (+74.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:MA 87.7→98.4
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE AL × MA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Tuscaloosa, AL and Barnstable Town, MA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.6 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with Barnstable Town 74.1 points higher than Tuscaloosa. 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.
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 Tuscaloosa to $112,117 in Barnstable Town, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Tuscaloosa
- 96.4
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
- Tuscaloosa
- 84.4
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
Diff +74.1 RPP
Rents
- Tuscaloosa
- 58.2
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
Diff +31.8 RPP
| Category | Tuscaloosa | Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 98.4 | +10.6 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 97.0 | +0.6 |
| Services | 84.4 | 158.4 | +74.1 |
| Rents | 58.2 | 90.0 | +31.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Tuscaloosa 87.7
Barnstable Town 98.4
Goods
Tuscaloosa 96.4
Barnstable Town 97.0
Services
Tuscaloosa 84.4
Barnstable Town 158.4
Rents
Tuscaloosa 58.2
Barnstable Town 90.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Tuscaloosa would need to be in Barnstable Town for the same purchasing power:
| In Tuscaloosa | In Barnstable Town | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $56,058 | +$6,058 |
| $75,000 | $84,088 | +$9,088 |
| $100,000 | $112,117 | +$12,117 |
| $150,000 | $168,175 | +$18,175 |
$ in Tuscaloosa = in Barnstable Town
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 98.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Tuscaloosa
87.7
Cost Index
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Barnstable Town more expensive than Tuscaloosa?
Barnstable Town is 12.1% more expensive than Tuscaloosa. The overall cost index is 98.4 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Barnstable Town equals $100K in Tuscaloosa?
A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa has the same purchasing power as $112,117 in Barnstable Town. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Tuscaloosa and Barnstable Town?
Rents in Tuscaloosa are indexed at 58.2 while Barnstable Town is at 90.0 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town 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.