Overall
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff -0.9 RPP
Wilmington vs Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is 0.9% less expensive than Wilmington.
0.9% less expensive
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI is 0.9% less expensive than Wilmington, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.5 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Wilmington buys about the same as $99,091 in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Wilmington) vs 95.5 (Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood)
- $100k in Wilmington ≈ $99,091 purchasing power in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
- Rents drives the gap (-6.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:MI 96.4→95.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × MI
- 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
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
95.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Wilmington, NC and Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.9 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is 6.6 points lower. 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 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 Wilmington corresponds to $99,091 in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff -2.9 RPP
Services
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff +5.9 RPP
Rents
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff -6.6 RPP
| Category | Wilmington | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 95.5 | -0.9 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 93.7 | -2.9 |
| Services | 87.9 | 93.8 | +5.9 |
| Rents | 93.2 | 86.6 | -6.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Wilmington 96.4
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 95.5
Goods
Wilmington 96.6
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 93.7
Services
Wilmington 87.9
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 93.8
Rents
Wilmington 93.2
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Wilmington would need to be in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood for the same purchasing power:
| In Wilmington | In Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,546 | $-454 |
| $75,000 | $74,319 | $-681 |
| $100,000 | $99,091 | $-909 |
| $150,000 | $148,637 | $-1,363 |
$ in Wilmington = in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 95.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood more expensive than Wilmington?
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is 0.9% less expensive than Wilmington. The overall cost index is 95.5 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood equals $100K in Wilmington?
A $100,000 salary in Wilmington has the same purchasing power as $99,091 in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Wilmington and Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood?
Rents in Wilmington are indexed at 93.2 while Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is at 86.6 (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.