Overall
100.2
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
Cost-of-living indicators for Amherst Town-Northampton, MA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 100.2
- Overall RPP
- #84
- of 387 metros
- 97.5
- Rents RPP
- $100K
- $100K national buys
Amherst Town ranks #84 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Port St. Lucie
The verdict
Amherst Town is more expensive than 78% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 100.2, 0.2% above the national average, led by services at 155.7.
- top 22%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 97.0
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 155.7
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $99,758 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $100,243.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Amherst Town's overall RPP fell -2.6 points, from 102.8 in 2023 to 100.2 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 107.0 to 97.5. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.5 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2010, when the index dropped 7.0 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Amherst Town overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.7 |
| 2009 | 103.7 |
| 2010 | 96.7 |
| 2011 | 100.1 |
| 2012 | 99.3 |
| 2013 | 100.0 |
| 2014 | 99.3 |
| 2015 | 103.1 |
| 2016 | 99.7 |
| 2017 | 102.3 |
| 2018 | 100.8 |
| 2019 | 98.7 |
| 2020 | 101.8 |
| 2021 | 99.0 |
| 2022 | 101.1 |
| 2023 | 102.8 |
| 2024 | 100.2 |
Amherst Town vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
100 Top 22% higher than 78% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Amherst Town cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
97.5 RPP
- Services
Services
155.7 RPP
- Overall
Overall
100.2 RPP
- Goods
Goods
97 RPP
What this shows Amherst Town's strongest departure is services at 155.7; goods follows at 97.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Amherst Town's cost comes from
Metros near Amherst Town's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Amherst Town (Amherst Town, this metro): goods RPP 97, rents RPP 97.5
- Port St. Lucie: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 113.6
- Las Vegas: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 115.5
- Detroit: goods RPP 98.8, rents RPP 94.7
- Greeley: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 112.6
- Flagstaff: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 109
- Spokane: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 97.1
Price Index Summary
Goods
97.0
Below avg
Services
155.7
Expensive
Rents
97.5
Below avg
Service-cost-led profile
How Amherst Town's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Amherst Town: the BEA services component is 155.7, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 100.2 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Barnstable Town, MA, Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT, Hanford-Corcoran, CA. They resemble Amherst Town across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Amherst Town's overall index has stayed within 0.5 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$100,243
in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$50,122
$75,000 nationally
$75,182
$125,000 nationally
$125,304
$150,000 nationally
$150,365
$200,000 nationally
$200,486
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
27/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
27th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
MA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Amherst Town-Northampton, MA near the bottom of MA's metros
Among the 6 MA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Amherst Town-Northampton, MA ranks #2 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Amherst Town-Northampton, MA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#2 of 6
0th percentile in MA
Services prices
#2 of 6
67th percentile in MA
Rent prices
#3 of 6
50th percentile in MA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Amherst Town-Northampton, MA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (100.2 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (97.5 here).
Other MA Metros
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 108.3 Worcester, MA 102.5 Barnstable Town, MA 98.4 Springfield, MA 96.1 Pittsfield, MA 95.1
View all MA metros → Cheapest in MA → Most expensive in MA →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Amherst Town's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Barnstable Town, MA
Goods 97.0 · Services 158.4 · Rents 90.0 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 148.6 · Rents 93.7 Hanford-Corcoran, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 157.4 · Rents 93.5 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Goods 97.1 · Services 148.8 · Rents 103.9 Fresno, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 161.0 · Rents 95.7 Chico, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 158.8 · Rents 91.9
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Amherst Town-Northampton, MA's index of 100.2.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Amherst Town
How to read Amherst Town's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $99,758 in Amherst Town. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 155.7, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Amherst Town head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA?
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 100.2, meaning it is 0.2% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 97.0, services at 155.7, and rents at 97.5. It ranks #84 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $100,243 in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA. Conversely, $100K earned in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA has the purchasing power of $99,758 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA?
Rents in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA are indexed at 97.5, which is 2.5% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Amherst Town-Northampton, MA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Amherst Town-Northampton, MA's overall cost index changed by +0.5 points (from 99.7 to 100.2). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA?
The priciest category in Amherst Town-Northampton, MA is services at 155.7, 55.7% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 97.0, 3.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Amherst Town-Northampton, MA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Port St. Lucie, Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Amherst Town-Northampton, MA's 100.2.
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.