Overall
96.4
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Wilmington, NC
Cost-of-living indicators for Wilmington, NC, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 96.4
- Overall RPP
- #141
- of 387 metros
- 93.2
- Rents RPP
- $104K
- $100K national buys
Wilmington ranks #141 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 Missoula
The verdict
Wilmington costs less than 36% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 96.4, 3.6% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 87.9.
- bottom 64%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.6
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 87.9
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $103,711 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $96,422.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$96,422
in Wilmington, NC purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,211
$75,000 nationally
$72,317
$125,000 nationally
$120,528
$150,000 nationally
$144,633
$200,000 nationally
$192,844
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
32/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
32nd 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 been trending upward, increasing by 3.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index jumped 3.0 points from the year before.
Wilmington overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.2 |
| 2009 | 91.8 |
| 2010 | 94.7 |
| 2011 | 94.4 |
| 2012 | 95.2 |
| 2013 | 94.9 |
| 2014 | 95.6 |
| 2015 | 93.7 |
| 2016 | 95.1 |
| 2017 | 93.9 |
| 2018 | 95.0 |
| 2019 | 93.5 |
| 2020 | 94.0 |
| 2021 | 97.0 |
| 2022 | 96.0 |
| 2023 | 95.4 |
| 2024 | 96.4 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Wilmington's overall RPP rose +1.0 points, from 95.4 in 2023 to 96.4 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 87.8 to 93.2. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Service-cost relief profile
How Wilmington's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Wilmington: their index is 87.9, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 96.4 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Gainesville, FL, Asheville, NC, Gainesville, GA. They resemble Wilmington 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, Wilmington'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.
Wilmington vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
96 Top 36% higher than 64% 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
Wilmington cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
93.2 RPP
- Services
Services
87.9 RPP
- Overall
Overall
96.4 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96.6 RPP
What this shows Wilmington's strongest departure is services at 87.9; rents follows at 93.2. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Wilmington's cost comes from
Metros near Wilmington's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Wilmington (Wilmington, this metro): goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 93.2
- Missoula: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 94.9
- Kankakee: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 92.9
- Winchester: goods RPP 96.7, rents RPP 90
- Cheyenne: goods RPP 95.4, rents RPP 89.8
- Asheville: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 93.4
- Nashville: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 104.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.6
Below avg
Services
87.9
Cheap
Rents
93.2
Below avg
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Wilmington, NC's index of 96.4.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Wilmington'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.
Gainesville, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.2 · Rents 93.0 Asheville, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 88.6 · Rents 93.4 Gainesville, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 89.6 · Rents 93.5 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 89.0 · Rents 94.9 Tucson, AZ
Goods 96.2 · Services 89.5 · Rents 91.8 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 86.9 · Rents 95.9
NC-relative analysis
Goods prices places Wilmington, NC near the bottom of NC's metros
Among the 15 NC metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Wilmington, NC ranks #1 - the 7th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Wilmington, NC only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 15
7th percentile in NC
Services prices
#10 of 15
33rd percentile in NC
Rent prices
#5 of 15
67th percentile in NC
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 NC only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Wilmington, NC: 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 (96.4 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (93.2 here).
Other NC Metros
Raleigh-Cary, NC 98.2 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 97.6 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 97.3 Asheville, NC 96.5 Burlington, NC 93.2 Greensboro-High Point, NC 92.9
View all NC metros → Cheapest in NC → Most expensive in NC →
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.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Wilmington
How to read Wilmington'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 $103,711 in Wilmington. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 87.9, 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington, NC?
Wilmington, NC has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 96.4, meaning it is 3.6% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.6, services at 87.9, and rents at 93.2. It ranks #141 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Wilmington, NC to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $96,422 in Wilmington, NC. Conversely, $100K earned in Wilmington, NC has the purchasing power of $103,711 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Wilmington, NC?
Rents in Wilmington, NC are indexed at 93.2, which is 6.8% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Wilmington, NC getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Wilmington, NC's overall cost index changed by +3.2 points (from 93.2 to 96.4). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Wilmington, NC?
The priciest category in Wilmington, NC is goods at 96.6, 3.4% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 87.9, 12.1% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Wilmington, NC?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Missoula, Kankakee, Winchester. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Wilmington, NC's 96.4.
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.