Pennsylvania vs North Carolina

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in Pennsylvania is worth

$102,459

at national prices · RPP 97.6BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in North Carolina is worth

$106,045

at national prices · RPP 94.3BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes +$3,586 further in North Carolina (+3.5% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

Pennsylvania: $100,000 ÷ (97.6 ÷ 100) = $102,459

North Carolina: $100,000 ÷ (94.3 ÷ 100) = $106,045

difference: $106,045 − $102,459 = +$3,586

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	Pennsylvania	North Carolina	Difference
All items	97.6	94.3	−3.4%
Housing rents	85.1	81.4	−4.3%
Goods	99.4	96.6	−2.8%
Utilities	109.3	88.6	−18.9%
Other services	99.8	98.2	−1.6%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

PennsylvaniaMedian rent$1,209/moMedian home$254,500

North CarolinaMedian rent$1,228/moMedian home$288,900

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	Pennsylvania	North Carolina
Income tax (top rate)	3.07%	3.99%
Sales tax (combined avg)	6.34%	7.00%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

Pennsylvania vs North Carolina: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and its purchasing power changes from $102,459 to $106,045 in national-average terms — a gain of $3,586. North Carolina is the cheaper of the two, running at 94.3 on the price index versus 97.6.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is utilities: Pennsylvania sits at 109.3 and North Carolina at 88.6 (100 = national). North Carolina has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,209 in Pennsylvania against $1,228 in North Carolina, and the typical home $254,500 versus $288,900. Pennsylvania is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, Pennsylvania has 3.07% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 6.34%; North Carolina has 3.99% top income tax and 7.00%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

Full profiles: Pennsylvania ·North Carolina. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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