Overall
- Cedar Rapids
- 89.0
- Duluth
- 88.8
Diff -0.2 RPP
Cedar Rapids vs Duluth
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Duluth is 0.2% less expensive than Cedar Rapids.
0.2% less expensive
Duluth, MN-WI is 0.2% less expensive than Cedar Rapids, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.8 vs 89.0). A $100,000 salary in Cedar Rapids buys about the same as $99,781 in Duluth; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.0 (Cedar Rapids) vs 88.8 (Duluth)
- $100k in Cedar Rapids ≈ $99,781 purchasing power in Duluth
- Services drives the gap (+3.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:MN 89.0→88.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × MN
- 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.
Cedar Rapids
89.0
Cost Index
Duluth
88.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cedar Rapids, IA and Duluth, MN-WI 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: Duluth is 3.3 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 Cedar Rapids to $99,781 in Duluth, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Cedar Rapids
- 93.7
- Duluth
- 95.3
Diff +1.6 RPP
Services
- Cedar Rapids
- 84.0
- Duluth
- 87.3
Diff +3.3 RPP
Rents
- Cedar Rapids
- 71.4
- Duluth
- 71.1
Diff -0.3 RPP
| Category | Cedar Rapids | Duluth | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.0 | 88.8 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 95.3 | +1.6 |
| Services | 84.0 | 87.3 | +3.3 |
| Rents | 71.4 | 71.1 | -0.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cedar Rapids 89.0
Duluth 88.8
Goods
Cedar Rapids 93.7
Duluth 95.3
Services
Cedar Rapids 84.0
Duluth 87.3
Rents
Cedar Rapids 71.4
Duluth 71.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cedar Rapids would need to be in Duluth for the same purchasing power:
| In Cedar Rapids | In Duluth | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,890 | $-110 |
| $75,000 | $74,836 | $-164 |
| $100,000 | $99,781 | $-219 |
| $150,000 | $149,671 | $-329 |
$ in Cedar Rapids = in Duluth
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.0 → 88.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Duluth more expensive than Cedar Rapids?
Duluth is 0.2% less expensive than Cedar Rapids. The overall cost index is 88.8 vs 89.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Duluth equals $100K in Cedar Rapids?
A $100,000 salary in Cedar Rapids has the same purchasing power as $99,781 in Duluth. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cedar Rapids and Duluth?
Rents in Cedar Rapids are indexed at 71.4 while Duluth is at 71.1 (national average = 100). Cedar Rapids 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.