Overall
- Wilmington
- 96.4
- Helena
- 95.7
Diff -0.7 RPP
Wilmington vs Helena
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Helena is 0.8% less expensive than Wilmington.
0.8% less expensive
Helena, MT is 0.8% less expensive than Wilmington, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.7 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Wilmington buys about the same as $99,225 in Helena; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Wilmington) vs 95.7 (Helena)
- $100k in Wilmington ≈ $99,225 purchasing power in Helena
- Services drives the gap (-15.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:MT 96.4→95.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × MT
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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
Helena
95.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Wilmington, NC and Helena, MT are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Helena 15.3 points lower than Wilmington. 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.
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 $99,225 in Helena, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Wilmington
- 96.6
- Helena
- 96.0
Diff -0.6 RPP
Services
- Wilmington
- 87.9
- Helena
- 72.6
Diff -15.3 RPP
Rents
- Wilmington
- 93.2
- Helena
- 90.1
Diff -3.1 RPP
| Category | Wilmington | Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 95.7 | -0.7 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.0 | -0.6 |
| Services | 87.9 | 72.6 | -15.3 |
| Rents | 93.2 | 90.1 | -3.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Wilmington 96.4
Helena 95.7
Goods
Wilmington 96.6
Helena 96.0
Services
Wilmington 87.9
Helena 72.6
Rents
Wilmington 93.2
Helena 90.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Wilmington would need to be in Helena for the same purchasing power:
| In Wilmington | In Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,613 | $-387 |
| $75,000 | $74,419 | $-581 |
| $100,000 | $99,225 | $-775 |
| $150,000 | $148,838 | $-1,162 |
$ in Wilmington = in Helena
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 95.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Helena more expensive than Wilmington?
Helena is 0.8% less expensive than Wilmington. The overall cost index is 95.7 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Helena equals $100K in Wilmington?
A $100,000 salary in Wilmington has the same purchasing power as $99,225 in Helena. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Wilmington and Helena?
Rents in Wilmington are indexed at 93.2 while Helena is at 90.1 (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.