Overall
103.3
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Ithaca, NY
Cost-of-living indicators for Ithaca, NY, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 103.3
- Overall RPP
- #43
- of 387 metros
- 128.4
- Rents RPP
- $97K
- $100K national buys
Ithaca ranks #43 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 3.2 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
The verdict
Ithaca is more expensive than 89% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 103.3, 3.3% above the national average, led by services at 131.6.
- top 11%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 99.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 131.6
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $96,789 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $103,317.
Ithaca vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
103 Top 11% higher than 89% 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
Ithaca cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
128.4 RPP
- Services
Services
131.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
103.3 RPP
- Goods
Goods
99.7 RPP
What this shows Ithaca's strongest departure is services at 131.6; rents follows at 128.4. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Ithaca's cost comes from
Metros near Ithaca's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Ithaca (Ithaca, this metro): goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 128.4
- Phoenix: goods RPP 95, rents RPP 121.2
- Bellingham: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 112.9
- Fairbanks: goods RPP 107.3, rents RPP 92.6
- Naples: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 129.4
- Trenton: goods RPP 99.8, rents RPP 135.1
- Dallas: goods RPP 102.8, rents RPP 117.9
Price Index Summary
Goods
99.7
Below avg
Services
131.6
Expensive
Rents
128.4
Expensive
Service-cost-led profile
How Ithaca's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Ithaca: the BEA services component is 131.6, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 103.3 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Manchester-Nashua, NH, New Haven, CT, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA. They resemble Ithaca 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, Ithaca's overall index has risen by 3.2 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.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending upward, increasing by 3.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2024, when the index jumped 3.8 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Ithaca overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.2 |
| 2009 | 102.3 |
| 2010 | 100.0 |
| 2011 | 101.5 |
| 2012 | 101.9 |
| 2013 | 99.8 |
| 2014 | 99.8 |
| 2015 | 103.3 |
| 2016 | 102.0 |
| 2017 | 104.9 |
| 2018 | 101.6 |
| 2019 | 103.7 |
| 2020 | 101.3 |
| 2021 | 102.2 |
| 2022 | 98.7 |
| 2023 | 99.5 |
| 2024 | 103.3 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Ithaca's overall RPP rose +3.8 points, from 99.5 in 2023 to 103.3 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 101.3 to 128.4. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$103,317
in Ithaca, NY purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$51,658
$75,000 nationally
$77,488
$125,000 nationally
$129,146
$150,000 nationally
$154,976
$200,000 nationally
$206,634
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
7/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
7th 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.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Ithaca'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.
Manchester-Nashua, NH
Goods 97.7 · Services 133.5 · Rents 134.2 New Haven, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 144.8 · Rents 124.3 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Goods 101.4 · Services 148.6 · Rents 129.3 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY
Goods 110.3 · Services 136.8 · Rents 115.8 Kingston, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 133.6 · Rents 110.2 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 151.3 · Rents 130.2
NY-relative analysis
Goods prices places Ithaca, NY near the bottom of NY's metros
Among the 13 NY metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Ithaca, NY ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Ithaca, NY only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 13
0th percentile in NY
Services prices
#9 of 13
31st percentile in NY
Rent prices
#2 of 13
85th percentile in NY
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 NY only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Ithaca, NY: 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 (103.3 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (128.4 here).
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Rents 128.0 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Rents 129.3 Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA Rents 129.6 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Rents 130.2 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Rents 125.8 Ann Arbor, MI Rents 125.3 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Rents 125.1 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Rents 125.1
Other NY Metros
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 112.6 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 109.4 Kingston, NY 100.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 99.6 Rochester, NY 97.0 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 95.8
View all NY metros → Cheapest in NY → Most expensive in NY →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Ithaca, NY's index of 103.3.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
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
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What this means for Ithaca
How to read Ithaca'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 $96,789 in Ithaca. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 131.6, 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 Ithaca 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 Ithaca, NY?
Ithaca, NY has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 103.3, meaning it is 3.3% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 99.7, services at 131.6, and rents at 128.4. It ranks #43 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Ithaca, NY to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $103,317 in Ithaca, NY. Conversely, $100K earned in Ithaca, NY has the purchasing power of $96,789 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Ithaca, NY?
Rents in Ithaca, NY are indexed at 128.4, which is 28.4% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Ithaca, NY getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Ithaca, NY's overall cost index changed by +3.2 points (from 100.2 to 103.3). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Ithaca, NY?
The priciest category in Ithaca, NY is services at 131.6, 31.6% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 99.7, 0.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Ithaca, NY?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Bellingham, Fairbanks-College. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Ithaca, NY's 103.3.
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.