Overall
- Worcester
- 102.5
- Fairbanks-College
- 103.2
Diff +0.7 RPP
Worcester vs Fairbanks-College
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fairbanks-College is 0.7% more expensive than Worcester.
0.7% more expensive
Fairbanks-College, AK is 0.7% more expensive than Worcester, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.2 vs 102.5). A $100,000 salary in Worcester buys about the same as $100,668 in Fairbanks-College; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 102.5 (Worcester) vs 103.2 (Fairbanks-College)
- $100k in Worcester ≈ $100,668 purchasing power in Fairbanks-College
- Services drives the gap (-35.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:AK 102.5→103.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MA × AK
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Worcester
102.5
Cost Index
Fairbanks-College
103.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Worcester, MA and Fairbanks-College, AK 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 creates the largest separation: Fairbanks-College is 35.4 points lower. But services and rents 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Worcester to $100,668 in Fairbanks-College, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Worcester
- 97.0
- Fairbanks-College
- 107.3
Diff +10.3 RPP
Services
- Worcester
- 155.2
- Fairbanks-College
- 119.8
Diff -35.4 RPP
Rents
- Worcester
- 113.0
- Fairbanks-College
- 92.6
Diff -20.4 RPP
| Category | Worcester | Fairbanks-College | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 102.5 | 103.2 | +0.7 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 107.3 | +10.3 |
| Services | 155.2 | 119.8 | -35.4 |
| Rents | 113.0 | 92.6 | -20.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Worcester 102.5
Fairbanks-College 103.2
Goods
Worcester 97.0
Fairbanks-College 107.3
Services
Worcester 155.2
Fairbanks-College 119.8
Rents
Worcester 113.0
Fairbanks-College 92.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Worcester and Fairbanks-College share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.0 to 0.7 RPP points. Fairbanks-College remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 28.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (8.1 to 20.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Worcester RPP | Fairbanks-College RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 104.7 | 104.7 | 0.0 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2012 | 103.0 | 97.9 | 5.1 points Worcester higher |
| 2016 | 106.3 | 100.4 | 5.8 points Worcester higher |
| 2020 | 101.8 | 99.4 | 2.4 points Worcester higher |
| 2024 | 102.5 | 103.2 | 0.7 points Fairbanks-College 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 Worcester would need to be in Fairbanks-College for the same purchasing power:
| In Worcester | In Fairbanks-College | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,334 | +$334 |
| $75,000 | $75,501 | +$501 |
| $100,000 | $100,668 | +$668 |
| $150,000 | $151,002 | +$1,002 |
$ in Worcester = in Fairbanks-College
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (102.5 → 103.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fairbanks-College more expensive than Worcester?
Fairbanks-College is 0.7% more expensive than Worcester. The overall cost index is 103.2 vs 102.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fairbanks-College equals $100K in Worcester?
A $100,000 salary in Worcester has the same purchasing power as $100,668 in Fairbanks-College. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Worcester and Fairbanks-College?
Rents in Worcester are indexed at 113.0 while Fairbanks-College is at 92.6 (national average = 100). Worcester 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.