Overall
- Cheyenne
- 96.5
- Great Falls
- 96.8
Diff +0.4 RPP
Cheyenne vs Great Falls
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Great Falls is 0.4% more expensive than Cheyenne.
0.4% more expensive
Great Falls, MT is 0.4% more expensive than Cheyenne, WY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.8 vs 96.5). A $100,000 salary in Cheyenne buys about the same as $100,367 in Great Falls; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 96.5 (Cheyenne) vs 96.8 (Great Falls)
- $100k in Cheyenne ≈ $100,367 purchasing power in Great Falls
- Rents drives the gap (+7.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WY:MT 96.5→96.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WY × MT
- 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.
Cheyenne
96.5
Cost Index
Great Falls
96.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cheyenne, WY and Great Falls, MT 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Great Falls is 7.3 points higher. 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 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 Cheyenne corresponds to $100,367 in Great Falls.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Cheyenne
- 95.4
- Great Falls
- 96.0
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
- Cheyenne
- 78.0
- Great Falls
- 73.0
Diff -4.9 RPP
Rents
- Cheyenne
- 89.8
- Great Falls
- 97.1
Diff +7.3 RPP
| Category | Cheyenne | Great Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.5 | 96.8 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 96.0 | +0.6 |
| Services | 78.0 | 73.0 | -4.9 |
| Rents | 89.8 | 97.1 | +7.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cheyenne 96.5
Great Falls 96.8
Goods
Cheyenne 95.4
Great Falls 96.0
Services
Cheyenne 78.0
Great Falls 73.0
Rents
Cheyenne 89.8
Great Falls 97.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cheyenne would need to be in Great Falls for the same purchasing power:
| In Cheyenne | In Great Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,183 | +$183 |
| $75,000 | $75,275 | +$275 |
| $100,000 | $100,367 | +$367 |
| $150,000 | $150,550 | +$550 |
$ in Cheyenne = in Great Falls
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.5 → 96.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Great Falls more expensive than Cheyenne?
Great Falls is 0.4% more expensive than Cheyenne. The overall cost index is 96.8 vs 96.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Great Falls equals $100K in Cheyenne?
A $100,000 salary in Cheyenne has the same purchasing power as $100,367 in Great Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cheyenne and Great Falls?
Rents in Cheyenne are indexed at 89.8 while Great Falls is at 97.1 (national average = 100). Great Falls 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.