Overall
88.5
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
Cost-of-living indicators for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 88.5
- Overall RPP
- #323
- of 387 metros
- 59.6
- Rents RPP
- $113K
- $100K national buys
Hickory ranks #323 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Goldsboro
The verdict
Hickory costs less than 83% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 88.5, 11.5% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 59.6.
- bottom 17%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.6
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 87.8
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $113,012 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $88,486.
Hickory vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
89 Bottom 17% higher than 17% 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
Hickory cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
59.6 RPP
- Services
Services
87.8 RPP
- Overall
Overall
88.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.6 RPP
What this shows Hickory's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 59.6 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 87.8. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Hickory's cost comes from
Metros near Hickory's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Hickory (Hickory, this metro): goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 59.6
- Goldsboro: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 57.7
- Macon: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 58.9
- Decatur: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 56.2
- Huntington: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 51.3
- Greenville: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 57.3
- Springfield: goods RPP 94.2, rents RPP 65.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.6
Below avg
Services
87.8
Cheap
Rents
59.6
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Hickory's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Hickory: rents index at 59.6, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 88.5.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC, Valdosta, GA, Sumter, SC. They resemble Hickory 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, Hickory's overall index has stayed within 1.5 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:
$88,486
in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$44,243
$75,000 nationally
$66,365
$125,000 nationally
$110,608
$150,000 nationally
$132,729
$200,000 nationally
$176,972
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
B
84/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability B
84th 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.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Hickory's overall RPP fell -0.9 points, from 89.4 in 2023 to 88.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 82.6 to 87.8. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.5 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index dropped 2.2 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Hickory overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 90.0 |
| 2009 | 90.3 |
| 2010 | 90.8 |
| 2011 | 92.3 |
| 2012 | 90.9 |
| 2013 | 89.5 |
| 2014 | 91.2 |
| 2015 | 89.5 |
| 2016 | 90.9 |
| 2017 | 90.8 |
| 2018 | 88.6 |
| 2019 | 87.0 |
| 2020 | 87.0 |
| 2021 | 89.1 |
| 2022 | 89.5 |
| 2023 | 89.4 |
| 2024 | 88.5 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Hickory'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.
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 88.2 · Rents 59.3 Valdosta, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.8 · Rents 58.8 Sumter, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.3 · Rents 60.8 Macon-Bibb County, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 89.5 · Rents 58.9 Goldsboro, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 87.9 · Rents 57.7 Greenville, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 87.3 · Rents 57.3
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's index of 88.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
NC-relative analysis
Goods prices places Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC near the bottom of NC's metros
Among the 15 NC metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ranks #1 - the 7th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 15
7th percentile in NC
Services prices
#12 of 15
20th percentile in NC
Rent prices
#11 of 15
27th percentile in NC
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 NC only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC: 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 (88.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (59.6 here).
Other NC Metros
Raleigh-Cary, NC 98.2 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 97.6 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 97.3 Asheville, NC 96.5 Wilmington, NC 96.4 Burlington, NC 93.2
View all NC metros → Cheapest in NC → Most expensive in NC →
Compare to Other Metros
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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What this means for Hickory
How to read Hickory'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 $113,012 in Hickory. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 59.6, 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 Hickory 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 88.5, meaning it is 11.5% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.6, services at 87.8, and rents at 59.6. It ranks #323 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $88,486 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC. Conversely, $100K earned in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC has the purchasing power of $113,012 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?
Rents in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC are indexed at 59.6, which is 40.4% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's overall cost index changed by -1.5 points (from 90.0 to 88.5). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?
The priciest category in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC is goods at 96.6, 3.4% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 59.6, 40.4% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Goldsboro, Macon-Bibb County, Decatur. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's 88.5.
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.