Overall
100.4
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT
Cost-of-living indicators for Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 100.4
- Overall RPP
- #79
- of 387 metros
- 93.7
- Rents RPP
- $100K
- $100K national buys
Norwich ranks #79 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 3.2 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Punta Gorda
The verdict
Norwich is more expensive than 80% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 100.4, 0.4% above the national average, led by services at 148.6.
- top 20%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 97.3
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 148.6
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $99,557 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $100,445.
Norwich vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
100 Top 20% higher than 80% 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
Norwich cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
93.7 RPP
- Services
Services
148.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
100.4 RPP
- Goods
Goods
97.3 RPP
What this shows Norwich's strongest departure is services at 148.6; rents follows at 93.7. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Norwich's cost comes from
Metros near Norwich's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Norwich (Norwich, this metro): goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 93.7
- Punta Gorda: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 113.3
- Ogden: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 117.9
- Spokane: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 97.1
- Flagstaff: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 109
- Detroit: goods RPP 98.8, rents RPP 94.7
- Amherst Town: goods RPP 97, rents RPP 97.5
Price Index Summary
Goods
97.3
Below avg
Services
148.6
Expensive
Rents
93.7
Below avg
Service-cost-led profile
How Norwich's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Norwich: the BEA services component is 148.6, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 100.4 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Waterbury-Shelton, CT, Amherst Town-Northampton, MA, Providence-Warwick, RI-MA. They resemble Norwich 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, Norwich's overall index has fallen 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.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$100,445
in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$50,222
$75,000 nationally
$75,334
$125,000 nationally
$125,556
$150,000 nationally
$150,667
$200,000 nationally
$200,890
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
31/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
31st 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
Norwich's overall RPP fell -0.3 points, from 100.7 in 2023 to 100.4 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 156.5 to 148.6. 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 3.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2014, when the index dropped 4.2 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Norwich overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.7 |
| 2009 | 104.2 |
| 2010 | 101.5 |
| 2011 | 101.6 |
| 2012 | 101.7 |
| 2013 | 102.1 |
| 2014 | 98.0 |
| 2015 | 101.8 |
| 2016 | 102.6 |
| 2017 | 102.3 |
| 2018 | 101.7 |
| 2019 | 102.7 |
| 2020 | 102.1 |
| 2021 | 100.0 |
| 2022 | 103.6 |
| 2023 | 100.7 |
| 2024 | 100.4 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Norwich'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.
Waterbury-Shelton, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 147.6 · Rents 89.1 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
Goods 97.0 · Services 155.7 · Rents 97.5 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Goods 97.1 · Services 148.8 · Rents 103.9 Barnstable Town, MA
Goods 97.0 · Services 158.4 · Rents 90.0 Hanford-Corcoran, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 157.4 · Rents 93.5 Redding, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 157.7 · Rents 89.4
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT's index of 100.4.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
CT-relative analysis
Goods prices places Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT near the bottom of CT's metros
Among the 5 CT metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 5
0th percentile in CT
Services prices
#1 of 5
80th percentile in CT
Rent prices
#4 of 5
20th percentile in CT
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 CT only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT: 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 (100.4 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (93.7 here).
Other CT Metros
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 106.9 New Haven, CT 104.6 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 102.7 Waterbury-Shelton, CT 99.8
View all CT metros → Cheapest in CT → Most expensive in CT →
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.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Norwich
How to read Norwich'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 $99,557 in Norwich. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 148.6, 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 Norwich 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 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT?
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 100.4, meaning it is 0.4% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 97.3, services at 148.6, and rents at 93.7. It ranks #79 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $100,445 in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT. Conversely, $100K earned in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT has the purchasing power of $99,557 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT?
Rents in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT are indexed at 93.7, which is 6.3% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT's overall cost index changed by -3.2 points (from 103.7 to 100.4). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT?
The priciest category in Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT is services at 148.6, 48.6% above the national average. The most affordable category is rents at 93.7, 6.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Punta Gorda, Ogden, Spokane-Spokane Valley. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT's 100.4.
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.