Overall
100.9
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Burlington-South Burlington, VT
Cost-of-living indicators for Burlington-South Burlington, VT, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 100.9
- Overall RPP
- #69
- of 387 metros
- 103.8
- Rents RPP
- $99K
- $100K national buys
Burlington ranks #69 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 2.1 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Charleston-North Charleston
The verdict
Burlington is more expensive than 82% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 100.9, 0.9% above the national average, led by services at 125.5.
- top 18%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 97.3
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 125.5
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $99,060 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $100,949.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$100,949
in Burlington-South Burlington, VT purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$50,475
$75,000 nationally
$75,712
$125,000 nationally
$126,186
$150,000 nationally
$151,424
$200,000 nationally
$201,898
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
22/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
22nd 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.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 2.1 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2023, when the index dropped 5.5 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Burlington overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.1 |
| 2009 | 104.7 |
| 2010 | 102.0 |
| 2011 | 101.9 |
| 2012 | 102.7 |
| 2013 | 103.3 |
| 2014 | 99.5 |
| 2015 | 102.9 |
| 2016 | 102.1 |
| 2017 | 103.7 |
| 2018 | 102.1 |
| 2019 | 104.5 |
| 2020 | 105.1 |
| 2021 | 102.6 |
| 2022 | 106.3 |
| 2023 | 100.8 |
| 2024 | 100.9 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Burlington's overall RPP rose +0.2 points, from 100.8 in 2023 to 100.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 121.9 to 125.5. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Service-cost-led profile
How Burlington's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Burlington: the BEA services component is 125.5, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 100.9 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY, Portland-South Portland, ME, Kingston, NY. They resemble Burlington 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, Burlington's overall index has fallen by 2.1 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.
Burlington vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
101 Top 18% higher than 82% 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
Burlington cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
103.8 RPP
- Services
Services
125.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
100.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
97.3 RPP
What this shows Burlington's strongest departure is services at 125.5; rents follows at 103.8. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Burlington's cost comes from
Metros near Burlington's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Burlington (Burlington, this metro): goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 103.8
- Charleston: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 119.8
- Tampa: goods RPP 95.5, rents RPP 125.8
- Bakersfield: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 90.3
- Reno: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 123.5
- Ann Arbor: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 125.3
- Salt Lake City: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 123.3
Price Index Summary
Goods
97.3
Below avg
Services
125.5
Expensive
Rents
103.8
Above avg
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Burlington-South Burlington, VT's index of 100.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Burlington'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.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 134.0 · Rents 102.6 Portland-South Portland, ME
Goods 97.2 · Services 134.6 · Rents 105.2 Kingston, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 133.6 · Rents 110.2 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Goods 96.8 · Services 114.4 · Rents 113.1 Fairbanks-College, AK
Goods 107.3 · Services 119.8 · Rents 92.6 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
Goods 99.8 · Services 109.2 · Rents 98.7
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Burlington-South Burlington, VT: 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 (100.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (103.8 here).
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Rents 103.9 Lexington Park, MD Rents 103.8 Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT Rents 104.1 Raleigh-Cary, NC Rents 103.5 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Rents 104.5 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Rents 104.6 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Rents 102.6 Portland-South Portland, ME Rents 105.2
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
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Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Burlington
How to read Burlington'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 $99,060 in Burlington. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 125.5, 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 Burlington 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 Burlington-South Burlington, VT?
Burlington-South Burlington, VT has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 100.9, meaning it is 0.9% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 97.3, services at 125.5, and rents at 103.8. It ranks #69 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Burlington-South Burlington, VT to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $100,949 in Burlington-South Burlington, VT. Conversely, $100K earned in Burlington-South Burlington, VT has the purchasing power of $99,060 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Burlington-South Burlington, VT?
Rents in Burlington-South Burlington, VT are indexed at 103.8, which is 3.8% above the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Burlington-South Burlington, VT getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Burlington-South Burlington, VT's overall cost index changed by -2.1 points (from 103.1 to 100.9). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Burlington-South Burlington, VT?
The priciest category in Burlington-South Burlington, VT is services at 125.5, 25.5% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 97.3, 2.7% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Burlington-South Burlington, VT?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Charleston-North Charleston, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Bakersfield-Delano. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Burlington-South Burlington, VT's 100.9.
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.