Overall
Diff -0.1 RPP
Bismarck vs Erie
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Erie is 0.1% less expensive than Bismarck.
0.1% less expensive
Erie, PA 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 $99,919 in Erie; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (Bismarck) vs 91.0 (Erie)
- $100k in Bismarck ≈ $99,919 purchasing power in Erie
- Services drives the gap (+31.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ND:PA 91.0→91.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ND × PA
- 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
Erie
91.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Bismarck, ND and Erie, PA 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: Erie is 31.8 points higher. 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 Bismarck to $99,919 in Erie, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +5.0 RPP
Services
Diff +31.8 RPP
Rents
Diff -27.2 RPP
| Category | Bismarck | Erie | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 91.0 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 100.7 | +5.0 |
| Services | 75.0 | 106.8 | +31.8 |
| Rents | 84.0 | 56.8 | -27.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Bismarck 91.0
Erie 91.0
Goods
Bismarck 95.7
Erie 100.7
Services
Bismarck 75.0
Erie 106.8
Rents
Bismarck 84.0
Erie 56.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Bismarck would need to be in Erie for the same purchasing power:
| In Bismarck | In Erie | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,959 | $-41 |
| $75,000 | $74,939 | $-61 |
| $100,000 | $99,919 | $-81 |
| $150,000 | $149,878 | $-122 |
$ in Bismarck = in Erie
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 Erie more expensive than Bismarck?
Erie is 0.1% less expensive than Bismarck. The overall cost index is 91.0 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Erie equals $100K in Bismarck?
A $100,000 salary in Bismarck has the same purchasing power as $99,919 in Erie. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Bismarck and Erie?
Rents in Bismarck are indexed at 84.0 while Erie is at 56.8 (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.