Overall
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff -0.5 RPP
Wilmington vs Racine-Mount Pleasant
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Racine-Mount Pleasant is 0.5% less expensive than Wilmington.
0.5% less expensive
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI is 0.5% less expensive than Wilmington, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.0 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Wilmington buys about the same as $99,522 in Racine-Mount Pleasant; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Wilmington) vs 96.0 (Racine-Mount Pleasant)
- $100k in Wilmington ≈ $99,522 purchasing power in Racine-Mount Pleasant
- Goods drives the gap (-2.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:WI 96.4→96.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × WI
- 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
Racine-Mount Pleasant
96.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Wilmington, NC and Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Racine-Mount Pleasant is 2.8 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,522 in Racine-Mount Pleasant as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Wilmington, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff -2.8 RPP
Services
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff +2.1 RPP
Rents
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff -1.2 RPP
| Category | Wilmington | Racine-Mount Pleasant | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 96.0 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 93.8 | -2.8 |
| Services | 87.9 | 90.0 | +2.1 |
| Rents | 93.2 | 92.0 | -1.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Wilmington 96.4
Racine-Mount Pleasant 96.0
Goods
Wilmington 96.6
Racine-Mount Pleasant 93.8
Services
Wilmington 87.9
Racine-Mount Pleasant 90.0
Rents
Wilmington 93.2
Racine-Mount Pleasant 92.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Wilmington would need to be in Racine-Mount Pleasant for the same purchasing power:
| In Wilmington | In Racine-Mount Pleasant | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,761 | $-239 |
| $75,000 | $74,641 | $-359 |
| $100,000 | $99,522 | $-478 |
| $150,000 | $149,283 | $-717 |
$ in Wilmington = in Racine-Mount Pleasant
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 96.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Racine-Mount Pleasant more expensive than Wilmington?
Racine-Mount Pleasant is 0.5% less expensive than Wilmington. The overall cost index is 96.0 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Racine-Mount Pleasant equals $100K in Wilmington?
A $100,000 salary in Wilmington has the same purchasing power as $99,522 in Racine-Mount Pleasant. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Wilmington and Racine-Mount Pleasant?
Rents in Wilmington are indexed at 93.2 while Racine-Mount Pleasant is at 92.0 (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.