Overall
- Athens-Clarke County
- 93.3
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff +5.2 RPP
Athens-Clarke County vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 5.5% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County.
5.5% more expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 5.5% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County, GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 93.3). A $100,000 salary in Athens-Clarke County buys about the same as $105,545 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.3 (Athens-Clarke County) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Athens-Clarke County ≈ $105,545 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Rents drives the gap (+9.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair GA:WA 93.3→98.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE GA × WA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Athens-Clarke County would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Athens-Clarke County | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $52,773 | +$2,773 |
| $75,000 | $79,159 | +$4,159 |
| $100,000 | $105,545 | +$5,545 |
| $150,000 | $158,318 | +$8,318 |
$ in Athens-Clarke County = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.3 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Walla Walla, WA is 5.5% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County, GA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.2-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Walla Walla 9.8 points higher than Athens-Clarke County. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Athens-Clarke County corresponds to $105,545 in Walla Walla.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Athens-Clarke County
- 96.3
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff +8.8 RPP
Services
- Athens-Clarke County
- 89.3
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff +5.1 RPP
Rents
- Athens-Clarke County
- 76.8
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff +9.8 RPP
| Category | Athens-Clarke County | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.3 | 98.5 | +5.2 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 105.0 | +8.8 |
| Services | 89.3 | 94.3 | +5.1 |
| Rents | 76.8 | 86.6 | +9.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Athens-Clarke County 93.3
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Athens-Clarke County 96.3
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Athens-Clarke County 89.3
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Athens-Clarke County 76.8
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Athens-Clarke County
93.3
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Athens-Clarke County and Walla Walla share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 1.4 to 5.2 RPP points. Walla Walla remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 27.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (22.8 to 5.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Athens-Clarke County RPP | Walla Walla RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.2 | 95.6 | 1.4 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 95.1 | 1.8 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2016 | 93.7 | 96.3 | 2.6 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2020 | 90.2 | 95.2 | 5.0 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2024 | 93.3 | 98.5 | 5.2 points Walla Walla 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Athens-Clarke County?
Walla Walla is 5.5% more expensive than Athens-Clarke County. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 93.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Athens-Clarke County?
A $100,000 salary in Athens-Clarke County has the same purchasing power as $105,545 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Athens-Clarke County and Walla Walla?
Rents in Athens-Clarke County are indexed at 76.8 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Walla Walla 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.