Overall
- Auburn-Opelika
- 87.9
- St. Cloud
- 87.6
Diff -0.3 RPP
Auburn-Opelika vs St. Cloud
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. St. Cloud is 0.3% less expensive than Auburn-Opelika.
0.3% less expensive
St. Cloud, MN is 0.3% less expensive than Auburn-Opelika, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.6 vs 87.9). A $100,000 salary in Auburn-Opelika buys about the same as $99,658 in St. Cloud; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.9 (Auburn-Opelika) vs 87.6 (St. Cloud)
- $100k in Auburn-Opelika ≈ $99,658 purchasing power in St. Cloud
- Services drives the gap (+4.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:MN 87.9→87.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × MN
- 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.
Auburn-Opelika
87.9
Cost Index
St. Cloud
87.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Auburn-Opelika, AL and St. Cloud, MN 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: St. Cloud is 4.8 points higher. But services and 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 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 Auburn-Opelika to $99,658 in St. Cloud, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Auburn-Opelika
- 96.4
- St. Cloud
- 95.4
Diff -1.0 RPP
Services
- Auburn-Opelika
- 83.9
- St. Cloud
- 88.7
Diff +4.8 RPP
Rents
- Auburn-Opelika
- 62.1
- St. Cloud
- 65.1
Diff +3.0 RPP
| Category | Auburn-Opelika | St. Cloud | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.9 | 87.6 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 95.4 | -1.0 |
| Services | 83.9 | 88.7 | +4.8 |
| Rents | 62.1 | 65.1 | +3.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Auburn-Opelika 87.9
St. Cloud 87.6
Goods
Auburn-Opelika 96.4
St. Cloud 95.4
Services
Auburn-Opelika 83.9
St. Cloud 88.7
Rents
Auburn-Opelika 62.1
St. Cloud 65.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Auburn-Opelika would need to be in St. Cloud for the same purchasing power:
| In Auburn-Opelika | In St. Cloud | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,829 | $-171 |
| $75,000 | $74,743 | $-257 |
| $100,000 | $99,658 | $-342 |
| $150,000 | $149,487 | $-513 |
$ in Auburn-Opelika = in St. Cloud
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.9 → 87.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is St. Cloud more expensive than Auburn-Opelika?
St. Cloud is 0.3% less expensive than Auburn-Opelika. The overall cost index is 87.6 vs 87.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in St. Cloud equals $100K in Auburn-Opelika?
A $100,000 salary in Auburn-Opelika has the same purchasing power as $99,658 in St. Cloud. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Auburn-Opelika and St. Cloud?
Rents in Auburn-Opelika are indexed at 62.1 while St. Cloud is at 65.1 (national average = 100). St. Cloud 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.