Overall
- Winston-Salem
- 92.0
- Sebring
- 92.5
Diff +0.4 RPP
Winston-Salem vs Sebring
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Sebring is 0.5% more expensive than Winston-Salem.
0.5% more expensive
Sebring, FL is 0.5% more expensive than Winston-Salem, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.5 vs 92.0). A $100,000 salary in Winston-Salem buys about the same as $100,464 in Sebring; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.0 (Winston-Salem) vs 92.5 (Sebring)
- $100k in Winston-Salem ≈ $100,464 purchasing power in Sebring
- Rents drives the gap (+2.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:FL 92.0→92.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × FL
- 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.
Winston-Salem
92.0
Cost Index
Sebring
92.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Winston-Salem, NC and Sebring, FL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Sebring is 2.1 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 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 Winston-Salem corresponds to $100,464 in Sebring.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Winston-Salem
- 96.6
- Sebring
- 96.2
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Winston-Salem
- 88.4
- Sebring
- 86.8
Diff -1.7 RPP
Rents
- Winston-Salem
- 71.4
- Sebring
- 73.5
Diff +2.1 RPP
| Category | Winston-Salem | Sebring | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.0 | 92.5 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 96.2 | -0.4 |
| Services | 88.4 | 86.8 | -1.7 |
| Rents | 71.4 | 73.5 | +2.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Winston-Salem 92.0
Sebring 92.5
Goods
Winston-Salem 96.6
Sebring 96.2
Services
Winston-Salem 88.4
Sebring 86.8
Rents
Winston-Salem 71.4
Sebring 73.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Winston-Salem and Sebring share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.6 to 0.4 RPP points. Sebring remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 4.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (2.6 to 1.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Winston-Salem RPP | Sebring RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 91.9 | 88.3 | 3.6 points Winston-Salem higher |
| 2012 | 92.6 | 89.1 | 3.5 points Winston-Salem higher |
| 2016 | 93.1 | 89.2 | 3.8 points Winston-Salem higher |
| 2020 | 89.5 | 88.2 | 1.3 points Winston-Salem higher |
| 2024 | 92.0 | 92.5 | 0.4 points Sebring higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Winston-Salem would need to be in Sebring for the same purchasing power:
| In Winston-Salem | In Sebring | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,232 | +$232 |
| $75,000 | $75,348 | +$348 |
| $100,000 | $100,464 | +$464 |
| $150,000 | $150,696 | +$696 |
$ in Winston-Salem = in Sebring
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.0 → 92.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sebring more expensive than Winston-Salem?
Sebring is 0.5% more expensive than Winston-Salem. The overall cost index is 92.5 vs 92.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Sebring equals $100K in Winston-Salem?
A $100,000 salary in Winston-Salem has the same purchasing power as $100,464 in Sebring. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Winston-Salem and Sebring?
Rents in Winston-Salem are indexed at 71.4 while Sebring is at 73.5 (national average = 100). Sebring 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.