Overall
- Bismarck
- 91.0
Diff -0.1 RPP
Bismarck vs College Station-Bryan
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. College Station-Bryan is 0.1% less expensive than Bismarck.
0.1% less expensive
College Station-Bryan, TX is 0.1% less expensive than Bismarck, ND on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.0 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in Bismarck buys about the same as $99,920 in College Station-Bryan; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (Bismarck) vs 91.0 (College Station-Bryan)
- $100k in Bismarck ≈ $99,920 purchasing power in College Station-Bryan
- Services drives the gap (+9.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ND:TX 91.0→91.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ND × TX
- 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.
Bismarck
91.0
Cost Index
College Station-Bryan
91.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Bismarck, ND and College Station-Bryan, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: College Station-Bryan is 9.4 points higher. But 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Bismarck to $99,920 in College Station-Bryan, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Bismarck
- 95.7
Diff -1.9 RPP
Services
- Bismarck
- 75.0
Diff +9.4 RPP
Rents
- Bismarck
- 84.0
Diff -8.9 RPP
| Category | Bismarck | College Station-Bryan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 91.0 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 93.8 | -1.9 |
| Services | 75.0 | 84.4 | +9.4 |
| Rents | 84.0 | 75.1 | -8.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Bismarck 91.0
College Station-Bryan 91.0
Goods
Bismarck 95.7
College Station-Bryan 93.8
Services
Bismarck 75.0
College Station-Bryan 84.4
Rents
Bismarck 84.0
College Station-Bryan 75.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Bismarck would need to be in College Station-Bryan for the same purchasing power:
| In Bismarck | In College Station-Bryan | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,960 | $-40 |
| $75,000 | $74,940 | $-60 |
| $100,000 | $99,920 | $-80 |
| $150,000 | $149,880 | $-120 |
$ in Bismarck = in College Station-Bryan
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 91.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is College Station-Bryan more expensive than Bismarck?
College Station-Bryan is 0.1% less expensive than Bismarck. The overall cost index is 91.0 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in College Station-Bryan equals $100K in Bismarck?
A $100,000 salary in Bismarck has the same purchasing power as $99,920 in College Station-Bryan. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Bismarck and College Station-Bryan?
Rents in Bismarck are indexed at 84.0 while College Station-Bryan is at 75.1 (national average = 100). Bismarck 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.