Overall
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff +0.2 RPP
Barnstable Town vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 0.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town.
0.2% more expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 0.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town buys about the same as $100,171 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Barnstable Town) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Barnstable Town ≈ $100,171 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Services drives the gap (-64.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:WA 98.4→98.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MA × WA
- 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.
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Barnstable Town, MA and Walla Walla, WA 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: Walla Walla is 64.1 points lower. 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 Barnstable Town to $100,171 in Walla Walla, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff +8.0 RPP
Services
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff -64.1 RPP
Rents
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff -3.4 RPP
| Category | Barnstable Town | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 98.5 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 105.0 | +8.0 |
| Services | 158.4 | 94.3 | -64.1 |
| Rents | 90.0 | 86.6 | -3.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Barnstable Town 98.4
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Barnstable Town 97.0
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Barnstable Town 158.4
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Barnstable Town 90.0
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Barnstable Town would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Barnstable Town | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,085 | +$85 |
| $75,000 | $75,128 | +$128 |
| $100,000 | $100,171 | +$171 |
| $150,000 | $150,256 | +$256 |
$ in Barnstable Town = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Barnstable Town?
Walla Walla is 0.2% more expensive than Barnstable Town. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Barnstable Town?
A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town has the same purchasing power as $100,171 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Barnstable Town and Walla Walla?
Rents in Barnstable Town are indexed at 90.0 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town 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.