Overall
- Tuscaloosa
- 87.7
- Youngstown-Warren
- 87.4
Diff -0.3 RPP
Tuscaloosa vs Youngstown-Warren
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Youngstown-Warren is 0.4% less expensive than Tuscaloosa.
0.4% less expensive
Youngstown-Warren, OH is 0.4% less expensive than Tuscaloosa, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.4 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa buys about the same as $99,626 in Youngstown-Warren; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Tuscaloosa) vs 87.4 (Youngstown-Warren)
- $100k in Tuscaloosa ≈ $99,626 purchasing power in Youngstown-Warren
- Services drives the gap (+11.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:OH 87.7→87.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × OH
- 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
Youngstown-Warren
87.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Tuscaloosa, AL and Youngstown-Warren, OH 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: Youngstown-Warren is 11.9 points higher. But services 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 $99,626 in Youngstown-Warren, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Tuscaloosa
- 96.4
- Youngstown-Warren
- 93.6
Diff -2.8 RPP
Services
- Tuscaloosa
- 84.4
- Youngstown-Warren
- 96.3
Diff +11.9 RPP
Rents
- Tuscaloosa
- 58.2
- Youngstown-Warren
- 53.4
Diff -4.8 RPP
| Category | Tuscaloosa | Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 87.4 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.6 | -2.8 |
| Services | 84.4 | 96.3 | +11.9 |
| Rents | 58.2 | 53.4 | -4.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Tuscaloosa 87.7
Youngstown-Warren 87.4
Goods
Tuscaloosa 96.4
Youngstown-Warren 93.6
Services
Tuscaloosa 84.4
Youngstown-Warren 96.3
Rents
Tuscaloosa 58.2
Youngstown-Warren 53.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Tuscaloosa would need to be in Youngstown-Warren for the same purchasing power:
| In Tuscaloosa | In Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,813 | $-187 |
| $75,000 | $74,720 | $-280 |
| $100,000 | $99,626 | $-374 |
| $150,000 | $149,439 | $-561 |
$ in Tuscaloosa = in Youngstown-Warren
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 87.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Youngstown-Warren more expensive than Tuscaloosa?
Youngstown-Warren is 0.4% less expensive than Tuscaloosa. The overall cost index is 87.4 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Youngstown-Warren equals $100K in Tuscaloosa?
A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa has the same purchasing power as $99,626 in Youngstown-Warren. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Tuscaloosa and Youngstown-Warren?
Rents in Tuscaloosa are indexed at 58.2 while Youngstown-Warren is at 53.4 (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.