Is Roanoke cheaper than Scranton?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Roanoke and Scranton metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Roanoke or Scranton?

Roanoke has the higher median household income — $72,557 versus $68,079 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 7% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Roanoke or Scranton?

A paycheck stretches further in Roanoke. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $77,503 there versus $72,768 in Scranton.

Which has cheaper rent, Roanoke or Scranton?

Scranton has cheaper rent — a median of $1,072/mo versus $1,188/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Roanoke vs Scranton

Metro-area medians — Roanoke, VA Metro Area vs Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Roanoke comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Roanoke and Scranton cost about the same to live in, but Roanoke households earn about 7% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Roanoke.

Their widest everyday difference: Roanoke has the tighter job market — 2.6% unemployment versus 4.6%.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Roanoke, VA

$57,747

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$61,684

real value after local prices

Scranton, PA

$59,011

take-home / yr · 21% to tax

$63,076

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Scranton leaves you about $1,392/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Roanoke

Scranton

Livability (CityLedger)

55/100

41/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

93.6

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$77,503

$72,768

Median household income

$72,557

$68,079

Median rent

$1,188/mo

$1,072/mo

Median home value

$278,000

$215,400

Unemployment

2.6%

4.6%

Bachelor's degree or higher

31.8%

28%

Average commute

22.2 min

23.1 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

58°F

51°F

Choose Roanoke for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher
+ Average commute

Full Roanoke profile →

Choose Scranton for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value

Full Scranton profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Roanoke and Scranton on cost, income, size, and education.

Roanoke vs Green Bay→Roanoke vs Billings→Roanoke vs Peoria→Scranton vs Springfield→Scranton vs Winston-Salem→Scranton vs Greensboro→

Roanoke vs Scranton — frequently asked

Is Roanoke cheaper than Scranton?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Roanoke and Scranton metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Roanoke or Scranton?: Roanoke has the higher median household income — $72,557 versus $68,079 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 7% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Roanoke or Scranton?: A paycheck stretches further in Roanoke. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $77,503 there versus $72,768 in Scranton.
Which has cheaper rent, Roanoke or Scranton?: Scranton has cheaper rent — a median of $1,072/mo versus $1,188/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).