Overall
- Tuscaloosa
- 87.7
- Rocky Mount
- 88.0
Diff +0.3 RPP
Tuscaloosa vs Rocky Mount
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rocky Mount is 0.3% more expensive than Tuscaloosa.
0.3% more expensive
Rocky Mount, NC is 0.3% more expensive than Tuscaloosa, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.0 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa buys about the same as $100,331 in Rocky Mount; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Tuscaloosa) vs 88.0 (Rocky Mount)
- $100k in Tuscaloosa ≈ $100,331 purchasing power in Rocky Mount
- Services drives the gap (+4.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:NC 87.7→88.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × 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.
Tuscaloosa
87.7
Cost Index
Rocky Mount
88.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Tuscaloosa, AL and Rocky Mount, 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Rocky Mount is 4.0 points higher. 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 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 $100,331 in Rocky Mount, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Tuscaloosa
- 96.4
- Rocky Mount
- 96.6
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Tuscaloosa
- 84.4
- Rocky Mount
- 88.4
Diff +4.0 RPP
Rents
- Tuscaloosa
- 58.2
- Rocky Mount
- 56.1
Diff -2.1 RPP
| Category | Tuscaloosa | Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 88.0 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 96.6 | +0.2 |
| Services | 84.4 | 88.4 | +4.0 |
| Rents | 58.2 | 56.1 | -2.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Tuscaloosa 87.7
Rocky Mount 88.0
Goods
Tuscaloosa 96.4
Rocky Mount 96.6
Services
Tuscaloosa 84.4
Rocky Mount 88.4
Rents
Tuscaloosa 58.2
Rocky Mount 56.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Tuscaloosa would need to be in Rocky Mount for the same purchasing power:
| In Tuscaloosa | In Rocky Mount | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,165 | +$165 |
| $75,000 | $75,248 | +$248 |
| $100,000 | $100,331 | +$331 |
| $150,000 | $150,496 | +$496 |
$ in Tuscaloosa = in Rocky Mount
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 88.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rocky Mount more expensive than Tuscaloosa?
Rocky Mount is 0.3% more expensive than Tuscaloosa. The overall cost index is 88.0 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rocky Mount equals $100K in Tuscaloosa?
A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa has the same purchasing power as $100,331 in Rocky Mount. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Tuscaloosa and Rocky Mount?
Rents in Tuscaloosa are indexed at 58.2 while Rocky Mount is at 56.1 (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.