Overall
- Champaign-Urbana
- 92.7
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff +5.8 RPP
Champaign-Urbana vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 6.3% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana.
6.3% more expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 6.3% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Champaign-Urbana buys about the same as $106,273 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.7 (Champaign-Urbana) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Champaign-Urbana ≈ $106,273 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Rents drives the gap (+15.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:WA 92.7→98.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IL × WA
- RENT-LED Rent-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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Champaign-Urbana would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Champaign-Urbana | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,136 | +$3,136 |
| $75,000 | $79,704 | +$4,704 |
| $100,000 | $106,273 | +$6,273 |
| $150,000 | $159,409 | +$9,409 |
$ in Champaign-Urbana = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
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.
Walla Walla, WA is 6.3% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana, IL, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.8-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Walla Walla 15.0 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 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 Champaign-Urbana corresponds to $106,273 in Walla Walla.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Champaign-Urbana
- 93.6
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff +11.4 RPP
Services
- Champaign-Urbana
- 90.5
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff +3.8 RPP
Rents
- Champaign-Urbana
- 71.6
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff +15.0 RPP
| Category | Champaign-Urbana | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.7 | 98.5 | +5.8 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 105.0 | +11.4 |
| Services | 90.5 | 94.3 | +3.8 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 86.6 | +15.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Champaign-Urbana 92.7
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Champaign-Urbana 93.6
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Champaign-Urbana 90.5
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Champaign-Urbana 71.6
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Champaign-Urbana
92.7
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Champaign-Urbana and Walla Walla share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.6 to 5.8 RPP points. Walla Walla remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 33.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (29.6 to 3.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Champaign-Urbana RPP | Walla Walla RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.2 | 95.6 | 0.6 points Champaign-Urbana higher |
| 2012 | 94.2 | 95.1 | 1.0 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2016 | 93.7 | 96.3 | 2.6 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2020 | 91.9 | 95.2 | 3.3 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2024 | 92.7 | 98.5 | 5.8 points Walla Walla 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Champaign-Urbana?
Walla Walla is 6.3% more expensive than Champaign-Urbana. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Champaign-Urbana?
A $100,000 salary in Champaign-Urbana has the same purchasing power as $106,273 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Champaign-Urbana and Walla Walla?
Rents in Champaign-Urbana are indexed at 71.6 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Walla Walla 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.