Overall
- Appleton
- 92.4
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 92.6
Diff +0.2 RPP
Appleton vs New Orleans-Metairie
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. New Orleans-Metairie is 0.2% more expensive than Appleton.
0.2% more expensive
New Orleans-Metairie, LA is 0.2% more expensive than Appleton, WI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.6 vs 92.4). A $100,000 salary in Appleton buys about the same as $100,193 in New Orleans-Metairie; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.4 (Appleton) vs 92.6 (New Orleans-Metairie)
- $100k in Appleton ≈ $100,193 purchasing power in New Orleans-Metairie
- Services drives the gap (-19.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:LA 92.4→92.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × LA
- 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
New Orleans-Metairie
92.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Appleton, WI and New Orleans-Metairie, LA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: New Orleans-Metairie is 19.4 points lower. But services and goods 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Appleton to $100,193 in New Orleans-Metairie, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Appleton
- 93.8
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 93.7
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Appleton
- 90.6
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 71.2
Diff -19.4 RPP
Rents
- Appleton
- 70.8
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 86.0
Diff +15.2 RPP
| Category | Appleton | New Orleans-Metairie | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.4 | 92.6 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.7 | -0.1 |
| Services | 90.6 | 71.2 | -19.4 |
| Rents | 70.8 | 86.0 | +15.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Appleton 92.4
New Orleans-Metairie 92.6
Goods
Appleton 93.8
New Orleans-Metairie 93.7
Services
Appleton 90.6
New Orleans-Metairie 71.2
Rents
Appleton 70.8
New Orleans-Metairie 86.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Appleton would need to be in New Orleans-Metairie for the same purchasing power:
| In Appleton | In New Orleans-Metairie | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,096 | +$96 |
| $75,000 | $75,144 | +$144 |
| $100,000 | $100,193 | +$193 |
| $150,000 | $150,289 | +$289 |
$ in Appleton = in New Orleans-Metairie
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.4 → 92.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New Orleans-Metairie more expensive than Appleton?
New Orleans-Metairie is 0.2% more expensive than Appleton. The overall cost index is 92.6 vs 92.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in New Orleans-Metairie equals $100K in Appleton?
A $100,000 salary in Appleton has the same purchasing power as $100,193 in New Orleans-Metairie. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Appleton and New Orleans-Metairie?
Rents in Appleton are indexed at 70.8 while New Orleans-Metairie is at 86.0 (national average = 100). New Orleans-Metairie 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.