Overall
- Yuma
- 92.7
Diff -0.0 RPP
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Yuma is 0% less expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
Yuma, AZ is 0% less expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford buys about the same as $99,996 in Yuma; the largest component gap is rents.
RPP parity plate
Pair VA:AZ 92.7→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-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.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA and Yuma, AZ are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents leads the difference, with Yuma 0.6 points lower than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford. 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.
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 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford corresponds to $99,996 in Yuma.
Diff -0.0 RPP
Diff -0.5 RPP
Diff -0.3 RPP
Diff -0.6 RPP
| Category | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | Yuma | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 92.7 | -0.0 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 96.2 | -0.5 |
| Services | 88.1 | 87.8 | -0.3 |
| Rents | 74.4 | 73.8 | -0.6 |
Vertical line = national average (100)
What a salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford would need to be in Yuma for the same purchasing power:
| In Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | In Yuma | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,998 | $-2 |
| $75,000 | $74,997 | $-3 |
| $100,000 | $99,996 | $-4 |
| $150,000 | $149,994 | $-6 |
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Yuma is 0% less expensive than Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
A $100,000 salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford has the same purchasing power as $99,996 in Yuma. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
Rents in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford are indexed at 74.4 while Yuma is at 73.8 (national average = 100). Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford has higher rents.
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.