Overall
- Cheyenne
- 96.5
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 96.9
Diff +0.4 RPP
Cheyenne vs Milwaukee-Waukesha
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Milwaukee-Waukesha is 0.5% more expensive than Cheyenne.
0.5% more expensive
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is 0.5% more expensive than Cheyenne, WY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.9 vs 96.5). A $100,000 salary in Cheyenne buys about the same as $100,462 in Milwaukee-Waukesha; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.5 (Cheyenne) vs 96.9 (Milwaukee-Waukesha)
- $100k in Cheyenne ≈ $100,462 purchasing power in Milwaukee-Waukesha
- Services drives the gap (+13.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WY:WI 96.5→96.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WY × 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.
Cheyenne
96.5
Cost Index
Milwaukee-Waukesha
96.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Cheyenne, WY 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Milwaukee-Waukesha is 13.6 points higher. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Cheyenne to $100,462 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Cheyenne
- 95.4
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 93.8
Diff -1.6 RPP
Services
- Cheyenne
- 78.0
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 91.6
Diff +13.6 RPP
Rents
- Cheyenne
- 89.8
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 97.1
Diff +7.3 RPP
| Category | Cheyenne | Milwaukee-Waukesha | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.5 | 96.9 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 93.8 | -1.6 |
| Services | 78.0 | 91.6 | +13.6 |
| Rents | 89.8 | 97.1 | +7.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Cheyenne 96.5
Milwaukee-Waukesha 96.9
Goods
Cheyenne 95.4
Milwaukee-Waukesha 93.8
Services
Cheyenne 78.0
Milwaukee-Waukesha 91.6
Rents
Cheyenne 89.8
Milwaukee-Waukesha 97.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Cheyenne would need to be in Milwaukee-Waukesha for the same purchasing power:
| In Cheyenne | In Milwaukee-Waukesha | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,231 | +$231 |
| $75,000 | $75,347 | +$347 |
| $100,000 | $100,462 | +$462 |
| $150,000 | $150,693 | +$693 |
$ in Cheyenne = in Milwaukee-Waukesha
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.5 → 96.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Milwaukee-Waukesha more expensive than Cheyenne?
Milwaukee-Waukesha is 0.5% more expensive than Cheyenne. The overall cost index is 96.9 vs 96.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Milwaukee-Waukesha equals $100K in Cheyenne?
A $100,000 salary in Cheyenne has the same purchasing power as $100,462 in Milwaukee-Waukesha. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Cheyenne and Milwaukee-Waukesha?
Rents in Cheyenne are indexed at 89.8 while Milwaukee-Waukesha is at 97.1 (national average = 100). Milwaukee-Waukesha 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.