Overall
Diff +0.3 RPP
Ann Arbor vs Chico
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chico is 0.3% more expensive than Ann Arbor.
0.3% more expensive
Chico, CA is 0.3% more expensive than Ann Arbor, MI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.2 vs 100.9). A $100,000 salary in Ann Arbor buys about the same as $100,314 in Chico; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 100.9 (Ann Arbor) vs 101.2 (Chico)
- $100k in Ann Arbor ≈ $100,314 purchasing power in Chico
- Services drives the gap (+60.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MI:CA 100.9→101.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MI × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Ann Arbor
100.9
Cost Index
Chico
101.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Ann Arbor, MI and Chico, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Chico is 60.7 points higher. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Ann Arbor to $100,314 in Chico, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +11.5 RPP
Services
Diff +60.7 RPP
Rents
Diff -33.4 RPP
| Category | Ann Arbor | Chico | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.9 | 101.2 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 105.2 | +11.5 |
| Services | 98.2 | 158.8 | +60.7 |
| Rents | 125.3 | 91.9 | -33.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Ann Arbor 100.9
Chico 101.2
Goods
Ann Arbor 93.7
Chico 105.2
Services
Ann Arbor 98.2
Chico 158.8
Rents
Ann Arbor 125.3
Chico 91.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Ann Arbor and Chico share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.2 to 0.3 RPP points. Chico remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 58.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (2.5 to 60.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Ann Arbor RPP | Chico RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.6 | 99.4 | 4.2 points Ann Arbor higher |
| 2012 | 100.9 | 103.5 | 2.6 points Chico higher |
| 2016 | 98.4 | 97.1 | 1.3 points Ann Arbor higher |
| 2020 | 98.6 | 101.8 | 3.2 points Chico higher |
| 2024 | 100.9 | 101.2 | 0.3 points Chico higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Ann Arbor would need to be in Chico for the same purchasing power:
| In Ann Arbor | In Chico | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,157 | +$157 |
| $75,000 | $75,236 | +$236 |
| $100,000 | $100,314 | +$314 |
| $150,000 | $150,471 | +$471 |
$ in Ann Arbor = in Chico
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.9 → 101.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chico more expensive than Ann Arbor?
Chico is 0.3% more expensive than Ann Arbor. The overall cost index is 101.2 vs 100.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chico equals $100K in Ann Arbor?
A $100,000 salary in Ann Arbor has the same purchasing power as $100,314 in Chico. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Ann Arbor and Chico?
Rents in Ann Arbor are indexed at 125.3 while Chico is at 91.9 (national average = 100). Ann Arbor has higher rents.
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.