Overall
93.6
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA
Cost-of-living indicators for Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 93.6
- Overall RPP
- #193
- of 387 metros
- 67.0
- Rents RPP
- $107K
- $100K national buys
Scranton ranks #193 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Bloomington
The verdict
Scranton costs less than 50% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 93.6, 6.4% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 67.0.
- bottom 50%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 100.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 106.5
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $106,888 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $93,556.
Scranton vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
94 Top 50% higher than 50% 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
Scranton cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
67 RPP
- Services
Services
106.5 RPP
- Overall
Overall
93.6 RPP
- Goods
Goods
100.7 RPP
What this shows Scranton's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 67.0 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 106.5. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Scranton's cost comes from
Metros near Scranton's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Scranton (Scranton, this metro): goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 67
- Bloomington: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 74.7
- Billings: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 77.4
- Roanoke: goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 78.5
- Monroe: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 74.6
- Myrtle Beach: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 83.1
- Homosassa Springs: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 78.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
100.7
Above avg
Services
106.5
Above avg
Rents
67.0
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Scranton's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Scranton: rents index at 67.0, 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 93.6.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lebanon, PA, Williamsport, PA, Pittsburgh, PA. They resemble Scranton 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, Scranton'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:
$93,556
in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$46,778
$75,000 nationally
$70,167
$125,000 nationally
$116,945
$150,000 nationally
$140,334
$200,000 nationally
$187,112
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
73/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
73rd 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.
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 2015, when the index jumped 3.9 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Scranton overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.1 |
| 2009 | 96.0 |
| 2010 | 94.1 |
| 2011 | 94.7 |
| 2012 | 94.0 |
| 2013 | 94.6 |
| 2014 | 91.5 |
| 2015 | 95.5 |
| 2016 | 94.8 |
| 2017 | 95.2 |
| 2018 | 92.9 |
| 2019 | 92.9 |
| 2020 | 93.1 |
| 2021 | 93.1 |
| 2022 | 91.9 |
| 2023 | 93.4 |
| 2024 | 93.6 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Scranton's overall RPP rose +0.2 points, from 93.4 in 2023 to 93.6 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 116.4 to 106.5. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Scranton'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.
Lebanon, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 108.4 · Rents 66.0 Williamsport, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.5 · Rents 64.4 Pittsburgh, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.7 · Rents 72.0 Chambersburg, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 108.3 · Rents 71.9 Gettysburg, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.0 · Rents 73.9 Erie, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 106.8 · Rents 56.8
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA's index of 93.6.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
PA-relative analysis
Services prices places Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA near the bottom of PA's metros
Among the 16 PA metros PlainCost tracks with reported services prices data, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA ranks #16 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 16
13th percentile in PA
Services prices
#16 of 16
0th percentile in PA
Rent prices
#11 of 16
31st percentile in PA
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 PA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA: 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 (93.6 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (67.0 here).
Other PA Metros
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 102.6 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 100.0 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 98.7 Lancaster, PA 98.3 Reading, PA 97.1 State College, PA 96.8
View all PA metros → Cheapest in PA → Most expensive in PA →
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
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What this means for Scranton
How to read Scranton'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 $106,888 in Scranton. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 67.0, 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 Scranton 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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA?
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 93.6, meaning it is 6.4% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 100.7, services at 106.5, and rents at 67.0. It ranks #193 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $93,556 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA. Conversely, $100K earned in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA has the purchasing power of $106,888 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA?
Rents in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA are indexed at 67.0, which is 33.0% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA's overall cost index changed by -1.5 points (from 95.1 to 93.6). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA?
The priciest category in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA is services at 106.5, 6.5% above the national average. The most affordable category is rents at 67.0, 33.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Bloomington, Billings, Roanoke. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA's 93.6.
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.