Overall
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 95.8
- Yakima
- 95.5
Diff -0.3 RPP
Buffalo-Cheektowaga vs Yakima
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Yakima is 0.3% less expensive than Buffalo-Cheektowaga.
0.3% less expensive
Yakima, WA is 0.3% less expensive than Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.5 vs 95.8). A $100,000 salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga buys about the same as $99,688 in Yakima; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 95.8 (Buffalo-Cheektowaga) vs 95.5 (Yakima)
- $100k in Buffalo-Cheektowaga ≈ $99,688 purchasing power in Yakima
- Services drives the gap (-37.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:WA 95.8→95.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × 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.
Buffalo-Cheektowaga
95.8
Cost Index
Yakima
95.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY and Yakima, WA 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: Yakima is 37.6 points lower. But 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga to $99,688 in Yakima, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 99.7
- Yakima
- 105.0
Diff +5.3 RPP
Services
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 129.5
- Yakima
- 91.9
Diff -37.6 RPP
Rents
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 81.0
- Yakima
- 72.6
Diff -8.4 RPP
| Category | Buffalo-Cheektowaga | Yakima | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.8 | 95.5 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 105.0 | +5.3 |
| Services | 129.5 | 91.9 | -37.6 |
| Rents | 81.0 | 72.6 | -8.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 95.8
Yakima 95.5
Goods
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 99.7
Yakima 105.0
Services
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 129.5
Yakima 91.9
Rents
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 81.0
Yakima 72.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga would need to be in Yakima for the same purchasing power:
| In Buffalo-Cheektowaga | In Yakima | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,844 | $-156 |
| $75,000 | $74,766 | $-234 |
| $100,000 | $99,688 | $-312 |
| $150,000 | $149,532 | $-468 |
$ in Buffalo-Cheektowaga = in Yakima
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.8 → 95.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yakima more expensive than Buffalo-Cheektowaga?
Yakima is 0.3% less expensive than Buffalo-Cheektowaga. The overall cost index is 95.5 vs 95.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Yakima equals $100K in Buffalo-Cheektowaga?
A $100,000 salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga has the same purchasing power as $99,688 in Yakima. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Buffalo-Cheektowaga and Yakima?
Rents in Buffalo-Cheektowaga are indexed at 81.0 while Yakima is at 72.6 (national average = 100). Buffalo-Cheektowaga 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.