Overall
- Fargo
- 90.9
Diff -0.1 RPP
College Station-Bryan vs Fargo
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fargo is 0.1% less expensive than College Station-Bryan.
0.1% less expensive
Fargo, ND-MN is 0.1% less expensive than College Station-Bryan, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.9 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in College Station-Bryan buys about the same as $99,912 in Fargo; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (College Station-Bryan) vs 90.9 (Fargo)
- $100k in College Station-Bryan ≈ $99,912 purchasing power in Fargo
- Services drives the gap (-7.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:ND 91.0→90.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × ND
- 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.
College Station-Bryan
91.0
Cost Index
Fargo
90.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
College Station-Bryan, TX and Fargo, ND-MN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Fargo is 7.1 points lower. But rents and 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 College Station-Bryan to $99,912 in Fargo, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fargo
- 95.7
Diff +1.9 RPP
Services
- Fargo
- 77.3
Diff -7.1 RPP
Rents
- Fargo
- 81.1
Diff +6.1 RPP
| Category | College Station-Bryan | Fargo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 90.9 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 95.7 | +1.9 |
| Services | 84.4 | 77.3 | -7.1 |
| Rents | 75.1 | 81.1 | +6.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
College Station-Bryan 91.0
Fargo 90.9
Goods
College Station-Bryan 93.8
Fargo 95.7
Services
College Station-Bryan 84.4
Fargo 77.3
Rents
College Station-Bryan 75.1
Fargo 81.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in College Station-Bryan would need to be in Fargo for the same purchasing power:
| In College Station-Bryan | In Fargo | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,956 | $-44 |
| $75,000 | $74,934 | $-66 |
| $100,000 | $99,912 | $-88 |
| $150,000 | $149,868 | $-132 |
$ in College Station-Bryan = in Fargo
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 90.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fargo more expensive than College Station-Bryan?
Fargo is 0.1% less expensive than College Station-Bryan. The overall cost index is 90.9 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fargo equals $100K in College Station-Bryan?
A $100,000 salary in College Station-Bryan has the same purchasing power as $99,912 in Fargo. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between College Station-Bryan and Fargo?
Rents in College Station-Bryan are indexed at 75.1 while Fargo is at 81.1 (national average = 100). Fargo 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.