Overall
- Champaign-Urbana
- 92.7
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +5.6 RPP
Champaign-Urbana vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 6% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana.
6% more expensive
Merced, CA is 6% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Champaign-Urbana buys about the same as $106,009 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.7 (Champaign-Urbana) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Champaign-Urbana ≈ $106,009 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+67.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:CA 92.7→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Merced, CA is 6% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana, IL, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.6-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 67.9 points higher than Champaign-Urbana. 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.
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 Champaign-Urbana to $106,009 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Champaign-Urbana and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 1.9 to 5.6 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 62.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (5.4 to 67.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Champaign-Urbana RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.2 | 94.3 | 1.9 points Champaign-Urbana higher |
| 2012 | 94.2 | 98.6 | 4.4 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 93.7 | 95.3 | 1.6 points Merced higher |
| 2020 | 91.9 | 98.7 | 6.9 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 92.7 | 98.3 | 5.6 points Merced 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Champaign-Urbana
- 93.6
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +11.5 RPP
Services
- Champaign-Urbana
- 90.5
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +67.9 RPP
Rents
- Champaign-Urbana
- 71.6
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +7.0 RPP
| Category | Champaign-Urbana | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 98.3 | +5.6 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 105.2 | +11.5 |
| Services | 90.5 | 158.3 | +67.9 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 78.6 | +7.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Champaign-Urbana 92.7
Merced 98.3
Goods
Champaign-Urbana 93.6
Merced 105.2
Services
Champaign-Urbana 90.5
Merced 158.3
Rents
Champaign-Urbana 71.6
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Champaign-Urbana would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Champaign-Urbana | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,005 | +$3,005 |
| $75,000 | $79,507 | +$4,507 |
| $100,000 | $106,009 | +$6,009 |
| $150,000 | $159,014 | +$9,014 |
$ in Champaign-Urbana = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Champaign-Urbana
92.7
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Champaign-Urbana?
Merced is 6% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Champaign-Urbana?
A $100,000 salary in Champaign-Urbana has the same purchasing power as $106,009 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Champaign-Urbana and Merced?
Rents in Champaign-Urbana are indexed at 71.6 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Merced 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.