Overall
- Chattanooga
- 91.5
- Lewiston
- 91.2
Diff -0.3 RPP
Chattanooga vs Lewiston
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lewiston is 0.3% less expensive than Chattanooga.
0.3% less expensive
Lewiston, ID-WA is 0.3% less expensive than Chattanooga, TN-GA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.2 vs 91.5). A $100,000 salary in Chattanooga buys about the same as $99,668 in Lewiston; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.5 (Chattanooga) vs 91.2 (Lewiston)
- $100k in Chattanooga ≈ $99,668 purchasing power in Lewiston
- Rents drives the gap (-4.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:ID 91.5→91.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TN × ID
- 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.
Chattanooga
91.5
Cost Index
Lewiston
91.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chattanooga, TN-GA and Lewiston, ID-WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Lewiston is 4.6 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 Chattanooga corresponds to $99,668 in Lewiston.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Chattanooga
- 96.0
- Lewiston
- 96.2
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Chattanooga
- 74.2
- Lewiston
- 72.6
Diff -1.6 RPP
Rents
- Chattanooga
- 76.5
- Lewiston
- 71.9
Diff -4.6 RPP
| Category | Chattanooga | Lewiston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.5 | 91.2 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 96.2 | +0.2 |
| Services | 74.2 | 72.6 | -1.6 |
| Rents | 76.5 | 71.9 | -4.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chattanooga 91.5
Lewiston 91.2
Goods
Chattanooga 96.0
Lewiston 96.2
Services
Chattanooga 74.2
Lewiston 72.6
Rents
Chattanooga 76.5
Lewiston 71.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chattanooga would need to be in Lewiston for the same purchasing power:
| In Chattanooga | In Lewiston | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,834 | $-166 |
| $75,000 | $74,751 | $-249 |
| $100,000 | $99,668 | $-332 |
| $150,000 | $149,501 | $-499 |
$ in Chattanooga = in Lewiston
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.5 → 91.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lewiston more expensive than Chattanooga?
Lewiston is 0.3% less expensive than Chattanooga. The overall cost index is 91.2 vs 91.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lewiston equals $100K in Chattanooga?
A $100,000 salary in Chattanooga has the same purchasing power as $99,668 in Lewiston. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chattanooga and Lewiston?
Rents in Chattanooga are indexed at 76.5 while Lewiston is at 71.9 (national average = 100). Chattanooga 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.