Overall
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 96.9
Diff -0.4 RPP
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia vs Milwaukee-Waukesha
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Milwaukee-Waukesha is 0.4% less expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia.
0.4% less expensive
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is 0.4% less expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.9 vs 97.3). A $100,000 salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia buys about the same as $99,578 in Milwaukee-Waukesha; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 97.3 (Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia) vs 96.9 (Milwaukee-Waukesha)
- $100k in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia ≈ $99,578 purchasing power in Milwaukee-Waukesha
- Goods drives the gap (-2.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:WI 97.3→96.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × WI
- 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.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
97.3
Cost Index
Milwaukee-Waukesha
96.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC and Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 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.
Goods creates the largest separation: Milwaukee-Waukesha is 2.8 points lower. But services 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $99,578 in Milwaukee-Waukesha as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 93.8
Diff -2.8 RPP
Services
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 91.6
Diff +2.4 RPP
Rents
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 97.1
Diff -0.5 RPP
| Category | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | Milwaukee-Waukesha | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.3 | 96.9 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 93.8 | -2.8 |
| Services | 89.2 | 91.6 | +2.4 |
| Rents | 97.6 | 97.1 | -0.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 97.3
Milwaukee-Waukesha 96.9
Goods
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 96.6
Milwaukee-Waukesha 93.8
Services
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 89.2
Milwaukee-Waukesha 91.6
Rents
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 97.6
Milwaukee-Waukesha 97.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia would need to be in Milwaukee-Waukesha for the same purchasing power:
| In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | In Milwaukee-Waukesha | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,789 | $-211 |
| $75,000 | $74,683 | $-317 |
| $100,000 | $99,578 | $-422 |
| $150,000 | $149,367 | $-633 |
$ in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia = in Milwaukee-Waukesha
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.3 → 96.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Milwaukee-Waukesha more expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?
Milwaukee-Waukesha is 0.4% less expensive than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. The overall cost index is 96.9 vs 97.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Milwaukee-Waukesha equals $100K in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia?
A $100,000 salary in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has the same purchasing power as $99,578 in Milwaukee-Waukesha. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia and Milwaukee-Waukesha?
Rents in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia are indexed at 97.6 while Milwaukee-Waukesha is at 97.1 (national average = 100). Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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.