Overall
- Charlottesville
- 99.1
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff -0.6 RPP
Charlottesville vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 0.6% less expensive than Charlottesville.
0.6% less expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 0.6% less expensive than Charlottesville, VA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 99.1). A $100,000 salary in Charlottesville buys about the same as $99,368 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 99.1 (Charlottesville) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Charlottesville ≈ $99,368 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Rents drives the gap (-20.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair VA:WA 99.1→98.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE VA × WA
- 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.
Charlottesville
99.1
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Charlottesville, VA and Walla Walla, WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Walla Walla is 20.5 points lower. But goods and 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 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 Charlottesville corresponds to $99,368 in Walla Walla.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Charlottesville
- 96.8
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff +8.3 RPP
Services
- Charlottesville
- 89.0
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff +5.3 RPP
Rents
- Charlottesville
- 107.0
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff -20.5 RPP
| Category | Charlottesville | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 99.1 | 98.5 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 105.0 | +8.3 |
| Services | 89.0 | 94.3 | +5.3 |
| Rents | 107.0 | 86.6 | -20.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Charlottesville 99.1
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Charlottesville 96.8
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Charlottesville 89.0
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Charlottesville 107.0
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Charlottesville would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Charlottesville | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,684 | $-316 |
| $75,000 | $74,526 | $-474 |
| $100,000 | $99,368 | $-632 |
| $150,000 | $149,051 | $-949 |
$ in Charlottesville = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (99.1 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Charlottesville?
Walla Walla is 0.6% less expensive than Charlottesville. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 99.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Charlottesville?
A $100,000 salary in Charlottesville has the same purchasing power as $99,368 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Charlottesville and Walla Walla?
Rents in Charlottesville are indexed at 107.0 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Charlottesville 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.