Overall
- Cedar Rapids
- 89.0
- Owensboro
- 88.6
Diff -0.4 RPP
Cedar Rapids vs Owensboro
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Owensboro is 0.4% less expensive than Cedar Rapids.
0.4% less expensive
Owensboro, KY is 0.4% less expensive than Cedar Rapids, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 88.6 vs 89.0). A $100,000 salary in Cedar Rapids buys about the same as $99,603 in Owensboro; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 89.0 (Cedar Rapids) vs 88.6 (Owensboro)
- $100k in Cedar Rapids ≈ $99,603 purchasing power in Owensboro
- Rents drives the gap (-15.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:KY 89.0→88.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × KY
- 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
Owensboro
88.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cedar Rapids, IA and Owensboro, KY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Owensboro is 15.7 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 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 Cedar Rapids corresponds to $99,603 in Owensboro.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Cedar Rapids
- 93.7
- Owensboro
- 96.2
Diff +2.5 RPP
Services
- Cedar Rapids
- 84.0
- Owensboro
- 75.2
Diff -8.8 RPP
Rents
- Cedar Rapids
- 71.4
- Owensboro
- 55.7
Diff -15.7 RPP
| Category | Cedar Rapids | Owensboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.0 | 88.6 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 96.2 | +2.5 |
| Services | 84.0 | 75.2 | -8.8 |
| Rents | 71.4 | 55.7 | -15.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cedar Rapids 89.0
Owensboro 88.6
Goods
Cedar Rapids 93.7
Owensboro 96.2
Services
Cedar Rapids 84.0
Owensboro 75.2
Rents
Cedar Rapids 71.4
Owensboro 55.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Cedar Rapids and Owensboro share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.3 to 0.4 RPP points. Cedar Rapids remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 3.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (18.7 to 15.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Cedar Rapids RPP | Owensboro RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.9 | 88.6 | 4.3 points Cedar Rapids higher |
| 2012 | 93.7 | 93.7 | 0.0 points Cedar Rapids higher |
| 2016 | 91.1 | 92.1 | 1.0 points Owensboro higher |
| 2020 | 91.2 | 89.0 | 2.2 points Cedar Rapids higher |
| 2024 | 89.0 | 88.6 | 0.4 points Cedar Rapids higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cedar Rapids would need to be in Owensboro for the same purchasing power:
| In Cedar Rapids | In Owensboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,802 | $-198 |
| $75,000 | $74,702 | $-298 |
| $100,000 | $99,603 | $-397 |
| $150,000 | $149,405 | $-595 |
$ in Cedar Rapids = in Owensboro
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.0 → 88.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Owensboro more expensive than Cedar Rapids?
Owensboro is 0.4% less expensive than Cedar Rapids. The overall cost index is 88.6 vs 89.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Owensboro equals $100K in Cedar Rapids?
A $100,000 salary in Cedar Rapids has the same purchasing power as $99,603 in Owensboro. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cedar Rapids and Owensboro?
Rents in Cedar Rapids are indexed at 71.4 while Owensboro is at 55.7 (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.