Overall
- Appleton
- 92.4
Diff +0.3 RPP
Appleton vs Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is 0.3% more expensive than Appleton.
0.3% more expensive
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is 0.3% more expensive than Appleton, WI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.4). A $100,000 salary in Appleton buys about the same as $100,315 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.4 (Appleton) vs 92.7 (Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford)
- $100k in Appleton ≈ $100,315 purchasing power in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
- Rents drives the gap (+3.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:VA 92.4→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × VA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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.
Appleton
92.4
Cost Index
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Appleton, WI and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is 3.6 points higher. But services 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 remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Appleton corresponds to $100,315 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Appleton
- 93.8
Diff +3.0 RPP
Services
- Appleton
- 90.6
Diff -2.5 RPP
Rents
- Appleton
- 70.8
Diff +3.6 RPP
| Category | Appleton | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.4 | 92.7 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.8 | +3.0 |
| Services | 90.6 | 88.1 | -2.5 |
| Rents | 70.8 | 74.4 | +3.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Appleton 92.4
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 92.7
Goods
Appleton 93.8
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 96.8
Services
Appleton 90.6
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 88.1
Rents
Appleton 70.8
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 74.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Appleton would need to be in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford for the same purchasing power:
| In Appleton | In Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,157 | +$157 |
| $75,000 | $75,236 | +$236 |
| $100,000 | $100,315 | +$315 |
| $150,000 | $150,472 | +$472 |
$ in Appleton = in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.4 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford more expensive than Appleton?
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is 0.3% more expensive than Appleton. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford equals $100K in Appleton?
A $100,000 salary in Appleton has the same purchasing power as $100,315 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Appleton and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford?
Rents in Appleton are indexed at 70.8 while Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is at 74.4 (national average = 100). Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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.