Overall
97.0
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Rochester, NY
Cost-of-living indicators for Rochester, NY, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 97.0
- Overall RPP
- #128
- of 387 metros
- 87.5
- Rents RPP
- $103K
- $100K national buys
Rochester ranks #128 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 3.8 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
The verdict
Rochester costs less than 33% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 97.0, 3.0% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 133.2.
- bottom 67%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 99.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 133.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $103,056 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $97,035.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Rochester's overall RPP fell -1.4 points, from 98.4 in 2023 to 97.0 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 94.4 to 87.5. 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 3.8 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2023, when the index jumped 3.0 points from the year before.
Rochester overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.8 |
| 2009 | 100.7 |
| 2010 | 99.0 |
| 2011 | 98.2 |
| 2012 | 98.5 |
| 2013 | 99.6 |
| 2014 | 98.0 |
| 2015 | 99.8 |
| 2016 | 99.8 |
| 2017 | 100.9 |
| 2018 | 99.0 |
| 2019 | 97.7 |
| 2020 | 97.3 |
| 2021 | 97.5 |
| 2022 | 95.4 |
| 2023 | 98.4 |
| 2024 | 97.0 |
Rochester vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
97 Top 33% higher than 67% 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
Rochester cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
87.5 RPP
- Services
Services
133.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
97 RPP
- Goods
Goods
99.7 RPP
What this shows Rochester's strongest departure is services at 133.2; rents follows at 87.5. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Rochester's cost comes from
Metros near Rochester's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Rochester (Rochester, this metro): goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 87.5
- Crestview: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 94.9
- Reading: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 85.4
- Milwaukee: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 97.1
- Lakeland: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 95.9
- Tucson: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 91.8
- Great Falls: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 97.1
Price Index Summary
Goods
99.7
Below avg
Services
133.2
Expensive
Rents
87.5
Cheap
Service-cost-led profile
How Rochester's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Rochester: the BEA services component is 133.2, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 97.0 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Syracuse, NY, Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, Bangor, ME. They resemble Rochester 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, Rochester's overall index has fallen by 3.8 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:
$97,035
in Rochester, NY purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,518
$75,000 nationally
$72,776
$125,000 nationally
$121,294
$150,000 nationally
$145,553
$200,000 nationally
$194,070
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
38/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
38th 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.
NY-relative analysis
Goods prices places Rochester, NY near the bottom of NY's metros
Among the 13 NY metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Rochester, NY ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Rochester, NY only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 13
0th percentile in NY
Services prices
#6 of 13
54th percentile in NY
Rent prices
#6 of 13
54th 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 Rochester, 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 (97.0 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (87.5 here).
Other NY Metros
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 112.6 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 109.4 Ithaca, NY 103.3 Kingston, NY 100.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 99.6 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 95.8
View all NY metros → Cheapest in NY → Most expensive in NY →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Rochester'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.
Syracuse, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 133.4 · Rents 80.7 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 129.5 · Rents 81.0 Bangor, ME
Goods 97.2 · Services 134.8 · Rents 77.7 Elmira, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 131.6 · Rents 76.4 Glens Falls, NY
Goods 99.7 · Services 133.8 · Rents 76.2 Waterbury-Shelton, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 147.6 · Rents 89.1
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Rochester, NY's index of 97.0.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
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.
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
What this means for Rochester
How to read Rochester'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 $103,056 in Rochester. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 133.2, 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 Rochester 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 Rochester, NY?
Rochester, NY has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 97.0, meaning it is 3.0% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 99.7, services at 133.2, and rents at 87.5. It ranks #128 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Rochester, NY to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $97,035 in Rochester, NY. Conversely, $100K earned in Rochester, NY has the purchasing power of $103,056 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Rochester, NY?
Rents in Rochester, NY are indexed at 87.5, which is 12.5% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Rochester, NY getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Rochester, NY's overall cost index changed by -3.8 points (from 100.8 to 97.0). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Rochester, NY?
The priciest category in Rochester, NY is services at 133.2, 33.2% above the national average. The most affordable category is rents at 87.5, 12.5% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Rochester, NY?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Reading, Milwaukee-Waukesha. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Rochester, NY's 97.0.
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.