Overall
98.9
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
Cost-of-living indicators for Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 98.9
- Overall RPP
- #98
- of 387 metros
- 98.7
- Rents RPP
- $101K
- $100K national buys
Atlantic City ranks #98 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 11.9 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Santa Fe
The verdict
Atlantic City costs less than 25% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 98.9, 1.1% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 109.2.
- bottom 75%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 99.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 109.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $101,156 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $98,857.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$98,857
in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$49,429
$75,000 nationally
$74,143
$125,000 nationally
$123,571
$150,000 nationally
$148,286
$200,000 nationally
$197,714
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
26/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
26th 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.
Service-cost-led profile
How Atlantic City's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Atlantic City: the BEA services component is 109.2, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 98.9 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, Lancaster, PA. They resemble Atlantic City 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, Atlantic City's overall index has fallen by 11.9 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.
Atlantic City vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
99 Top 25% higher than 75% 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
Atlantic City cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
98.7 RPP
- Services
Services
109.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
98.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
99.8 RPP
What this shows Atlantic City's strongest departure is services at 109.2; rents follows at 98.7. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Atlantic City's cost comes from
Metros near Atlantic City's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Atlantic City (Atlantic City, this metro): goods RPP 99.8, rents RPP 98.7
- Santa Fe: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 108
- Harrisburg: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 96.3
- Houston: goods RPP 100.6, rents RPP 104.5
- Charlottesville: goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 107
- Walla Walla: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 86.6
- Boise City: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 105.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
99.8
Below avg
Services
109.2
Above avg
Rents
98.7
Below avg
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Atlantic City's overall RPP did not change 0.0 points, from 98.9 in 2023 to 98.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was goods, changing from 97.8 to 99.8. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 11.9 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index dropped 5.2 points from the year before.
Atlantic City overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 110.7 |
| 2009 | 106.9 |
| 2010 | 108.8 |
| 2011 | 106.2 |
| 2012 | 104.6 |
| 2013 | 102.0 |
| 2014 | 102.7 |
| 2015 | 103.2 |
| 2016 | 102.6 |
| 2017 | 100.9 |
| 2018 | 100.8 |
| 2019 | 97.4 |
| 2020 | 101.2 |
| 2021 | 96.0 |
| 2022 | 100.2 |
| 2023 | 98.9 |
| 2024 | 98.9 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ's index of 98.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
NJ-relative analysis
Goods prices places Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ near the bottom of NJ's metros
Among the 3 NJ metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 3
0th percentile in NJ
Services prices
#2 of 3
33rd percentile in NJ
Rent prices
#2 of 3
33rd percentile in NJ
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 NJ only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ: 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 (98.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (98.7 here).
Other NJ Metros
View all NJ metros → Cheapest in NJ → Most expensive in NJ →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Atlantic City'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.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 108.1 · Rents 96.3 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Goods 98.8 · Services 107.0 · Rents 94.7 Lancaster, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.3 · Rents 93.8 Lexington Park, MD
Goods 99.7 · Services 106.4 · Rents 103.8 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
Goods 100.6 · Services 107.6 · Rents 105.5 Albany, OR
Goods 105.3 · Services 104.8 · Rents 101.1
Compare to Other Metros
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Atlantic City
How to read Atlantic City'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 $101,156 in Atlantic City. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 109.2, 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 Atlantic City 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 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ?
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 98.9, meaning it is 1.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 99.8, services at 109.2, and rents at 98.7. It ranks #98 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $98,857 in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ. Conversely, $100K earned in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ has the purchasing power of $101,156 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ?
Rents in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ are indexed at 98.7, which is 1.3% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ's overall cost index changed by -11.9 points (from 110.7 to 98.9). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ?
The priciest category in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ is services at 109.2, 9.2% above the national average. The most affordable category is rents at 98.7, 1.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Santa Fe, Harrisburg-Carlisle, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ's 98.9.
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.