Overall
100.7
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Kingston, NY
Cost-of-living indicators for Kingston, NY, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 100.7
- Overall RPP
- #75
- of 387 metros
- 110.2
- Rents RPP
- $99K
- $100K national buys
Kingston ranks #75 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 6.4 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Colorado Springs
The verdict
Kingston is more expensive than 81% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 100.7, 0.7% above the national average, led by services at 133.6.
- top 19%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 99.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 133.6
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $99,296 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $100,709.
Kingston vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
101 Top 19% higher than 81% 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
Kingston cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
110.2 RPP
- Services
Services
133.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
100.7 RPP
- Goods
Goods
99.7 RPP
What this shows Kingston's strongest departure is services at 133.6; rents follows at 110.2. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Kingston's cost comes from
Metros near Kingston's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Kingston (Kingston, this metro): goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 110.2
- Colorado Springs: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 116.2
- Redding: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 89.4
- Lexington Park: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 103.8
- Salt Lake City: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 123.3
- Ann Arbor: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 125.3
- Bakersfield: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 90.3
Price Index Summary
Goods
99.7
Below avg
Services
133.6
Expensive
Rents
110.2
Expensive
Service-cost-led profile
How Kingston's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Kingston: the BEA services component is 133.6, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 100.7 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Portland-South Portland, ME, Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY, Burlington-South Burlington, VT. They resemble Kingston 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, Kingston's overall index has fallen by 6.4 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 downward, decreasing by 6.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2009, when the index dropped 3.1 points from the year before.
Kingston overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 107.1 |
| 2009 | 104.0 |
| 2010 | 102.6 |
| 2011 | 101.5 |
| 2012 | 102.0 |
| 2013 | 103.5 |
| 2014 | 102.3 |
| 2015 | 102.4 |
| 2016 | 101.2 |
| 2017 | 102.9 |
| 2018 | 100.9 |
| 2019 | 101.6 |
| 2020 | 101.6 |
| 2021 | 99.9 |
| 2022 | 99.3 |
| 2023 | 99.6 |
| 2024 | 100.7 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Kingston's overall RPP rose +1.1 points, from 99.6 in 2023 to 100.7 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 101.4 to 110.2. 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:
$100,709
in Kingston, NY purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$50,355
$75,000 nationally
$75,532
$125,000 nationally
$125,886
$150,000 nationally
$151,064
$200,000 nationally
$201,418
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
17/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
17th 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 Kingston'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.
Portland-South Portland, ME
Goods 97.2 · Services 134.6 · Rents 105.2 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 134.0 · Rents 102.6 Burlington-South Burlington, VT
Goods 97.3 · Services 125.5 · Rents 103.8 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 144.9 · Rents 110.2 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY
Goods 110.3 · Services 136.8 · Rents 115.8 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Goods 97.1 · Services 148.8 · Rents 103.9
NY-relative analysis
Goods prices places Kingston, NY near the bottom of NY's metros
Among the 13 NY metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Kingston, NY ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Kingston, NY only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 13
0th percentile in NY
Services prices
#4 of 13
69th percentile in NY
Rent prices
#4 of 13
69th 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 Kingston, 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 (100.7 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (110.2 here).
Other NY Metros
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 112.6 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 109.4 Ithaca, NY 103.3 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 Kingston, NY's index of 100.7.
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
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
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What this means for Kingston
How to read Kingston'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 $99,296 in Kingston. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 133.6, 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 Kingston 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 Kingston, NY?
Kingston, NY has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 100.7, meaning it is 0.7% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 99.7, services at 133.6, and rents at 110.2. It ranks #75 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Kingston, NY to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $100,709 in Kingston, NY. Conversely, $100K earned in Kingston, NY has the purchasing power of $99,296 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Kingston, NY?
Rents in Kingston, NY are indexed at 110.2, which is 10.2% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Kingston, NY getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Kingston, NY's overall cost index changed by -6.4 points (from 107.1 to 100.7). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Kingston, NY?
The priciest category in Kingston, NY is services at 133.6, 33.6% 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 Kingston, NY?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Colorado Springs, Redding, Lexington Park. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Kingston, NY's 100.7.
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.