Overall
Diff +1.3 RPP
Chico vs Worcester
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Worcester is 1.3% more expensive than Chico.
1.3% more expensive
Worcester, MA is 1.3% more expensive than Chico, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.5 vs 101.2). A $100,000 salary in Chico buys about the same as $101,310 in Worcester; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 101.2 (Chico) vs 102.5 (Worcester)
- $100k in Chico ≈ $101,310 purchasing power in Worcester
- Rents drives the gap (+21.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:MA 101.2→102.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CA × MA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Chico
101.2
Cost Index
Worcester
102.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Chico, CA and Worcester, MA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Worcester is 21.1 points higher. 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Chico corresponds to $101,310 in Worcester.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -8.2 RPP
Services
Diff -3.6 RPP
Rents
Diff +21.1 RPP
| Category | Chico | Worcester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.2 | 102.5 | +1.3 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 97.0 | -8.2 |
| Services | 158.8 | 155.2 | -3.6 |
| Rents | 91.9 | 113.0 | +21.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Chico 101.2
Worcester 102.5
Goods
Chico 105.2
Worcester 97.0
Services
Chico 158.8
Worcester 155.2
Rents
Chico 91.9
Worcester 113.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Chico and Worcester share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.3 to 1.3 RPP points. Worcester remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 53.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (50.2 to 3.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Chico RPP | Worcester RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 99.4 | 104.7 | 5.3 points Worcester higher |
| 2012 | 103.5 | 103.0 | 0.5 points Chico higher |
| 2016 | 97.1 | 106.3 | 9.2 points Worcester higher |
| 2020 | 101.8 | 101.8 | 0.0 points Worcester higher |
| 2024 | 101.2 | 102.5 | 1.3 points Worcester higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Chico would need to be in Worcester for the same purchasing power:
| In Chico | In Worcester | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,655 | +$655 |
| $75,000 | $75,983 | +$983 |
| $100,000 | $101,310 | +$1,310 |
| $150,000 | $151,965 | +$1,965 |
$ in Chico = in Worcester
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.2 → 102.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Worcester more expensive than Chico?
Worcester is 1.3% more expensive than Chico. The overall cost index is 102.5 vs 101.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Worcester equals $100K in Chico?
A $100,000 salary in Chico has the same purchasing power as $101,310 in Worcester. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Chico and Worcester?
Rents in Chico are indexed at 91.9 while Worcester is at 113.0 (national average = 100). Worcester 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.