Overall
- Wilmington
- 96.4
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 95.8
Diff -0.6 RPP
Wilmington vs Buffalo-Cheektowaga
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Buffalo-Cheektowaga is 0.6% less expensive than Wilmington.
0.6% less expensive
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY is 0.6% less expensive than Wilmington, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.8 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Wilmington buys about the same as $99,401 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Wilmington) vs 95.8 (Buffalo-Cheektowaga)
- $100k in Wilmington ≈ $99,401 purchasing power in Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- Services drives the gap (+41.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:NY 96.4→95.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × NY
- 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.
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
Buffalo-Cheektowaga
95.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Wilmington, NC and Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Buffalo-Cheektowaga is 41.6 points higher. But services 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Wilmington to $99,401 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Wilmington
- 96.6
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 99.7
Diff +3.1 RPP
Services
- Wilmington
- 87.9
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 129.5
Diff +41.6 RPP
Rents
- Wilmington
- 93.2
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 81.0
Diff -12.2 RPP
| Category | Wilmington | Buffalo-Cheektowaga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 95.8 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 99.7 | +3.1 |
| Services | 87.9 | 129.5 | +41.6 |
| Rents | 93.2 | 81.0 | -12.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Wilmington 96.4
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 95.8
Goods
Wilmington 96.6
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 99.7
Services
Wilmington 87.9
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 129.5
Rents
Wilmington 93.2
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 81.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Wilmington would need to be in Buffalo-Cheektowaga for the same purchasing power:
| In Wilmington | In Buffalo-Cheektowaga | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,700 | $-300 |
| $75,000 | $74,550 | $-450 |
| $100,000 | $99,401 | $-599 |
| $150,000 | $149,101 | $-899 |
$ in Wilmington = in Buffalo-Cheektowaga
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 95.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Buffalo-Cheektowaga more expensive than Wilmington?
Buffalo-Cheektowaga is 0.6% less expensive than Wilmington. The overall cost index is 95.8 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga equals $100K in Wilmington?
A $100,000 salary in Wilmington has the same purchasing power as $99,401 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Wilmington and Buffalo-Cheektowaga?
Rents in Wilmington are indexed at 93.2 while Buffalo-Cheektowaga is at 81.0 (national average = 100). Wilmington 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.