Overall
- Appleton
- 92.4
- Champaign-Urbana
- 92.7
Diff +0.3 RPP
Appleton vs Champaign-Urbana
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Champaign-Urbana is 0.3% more expensive than Appleton.
0.3% more expensive
Champaign-Urbana, IL 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 $100,308 in Champaign-Urbana; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.4 (Appleton) vs 92.7 (Champaign-Urbana)
- $100k in Appleton ≈ $100,308 purchasing power in Champaign-Urbana
- Rents drives the gap (+0.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:IL 92.4→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × IL
- 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
Champaign-Urbana
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Appleton, WI and Champaign-Urbana, IL 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: Champaign-Urbana is 0.8 points higher. But goods and 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 $100,308 in Champaign-Urbana.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Appleton
- 93.8
- Champaign-Urbana
- 93.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Appleton
- 90.6
- Champaign-Urbana
- 90.5
Diff -0.1 RPP
Rents
- Appleton
- 70.8
- Champaign-Urbana
- 71.6
Diff +0.8 RPP
| Category | Appleton | Champaign-Urbana | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.4 | 92.7 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Services | 90.6 | 90.5 | -0.1 |
| Rents | 70.8 | 71.6 | +0.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Appleton 92.4
Champaign-Urbana 92.7
Goods
Appleton 93.8
Champaign-Urbana 93.6
Services
Appleton 90.6
Champaign-Urbana 90.5
Rents
Appleton 70.8
Champaign-Urbana 71.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Appleton would need to be in Champaign-Urbana for the same purchasing power:
| In Appleton | In Champaign-Urbana | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,154 | +$154 |
| $75,000 | $75,231 | +$231 |
| $100,000 | $100,308 | +$308 |
| $150,000 | $150,463 | +$463 |
$ in Appleton = in Champaign-Urbana
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 Champaign-Urbana more expensive than Appleton?
Champaign-Urbana is 0.3% more expensive than Appleton. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Champaign-Urbana equals $100K in Appleton?
A $100,000 salary in Appleton has the same purchasing power as $100,308 in Champaign-Urbana. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Appleton and Champaign-Urbana?
Rents in Appleton are indexed at 70.8 while Champaign-Urbana is at 71.6 (national average = 100). Champaign-Urbana 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.