Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +7.3 RPP
College Station-Bryan vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 8.1% more expensive than College Station-Bryan.
8.1% more expensive
Merced, CA is 8.1% more expensive than College Station-Bryan, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in College Station-Bryan buys about the same as $108,053 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (College Station-Bryan) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in College Station-Bryan ≈ $108,053 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+73.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:CA 91.0→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Merced, CA is 8.1% more expensive than College Station-Bryan, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.3-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 73.9 points higher than College Station-Bryan. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 $108,053 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
College Station-Bryan and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.9 to 7.3 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 72.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (1.9 to 73.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | College Station-Bryan RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.1 | 94.3 | 0.9 points College Station-Bryan higher |
| 2012 | 96.5 | 98.6 | 2.1 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 96.4 | 95.3 | 1.1 points College Station-Bryan higher |
| 2020 | 95.1 | 98.7 | 3.6 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 91.0 | 98.3 | 7.3 points Merced 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +11.4 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +73.9 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +3.5 RPP
| Category | College Station-Bryan | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 98.3 | +7.3 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 105.2 | +11.4 |
| Services | 84.4 | 158.3 | +73.9 |
| Rents | 75.1 | 78.6 | +3.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
College Station-Bryan 91.0
Merced 98.3
Goods
College Station-Bryan 93.8
Merced 105.2
Services
College Station-Bryan 84.4
Merced 158.3
Rents
College Station-Bryan 75.1
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in College Station-Bryan would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In College Station-Bryan | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $54,026 | +$4,026 |
| $75,000 | $81,040 | +$6,040 |
| $100,000 | $108,053 | +$8,053 |
| $150,000 | $162,079 | +$12,079 |
$ in College Station-Bryan = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
College Station-Bryan
91.0
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than College Station-Bryan?
Merced is 8.1% more expensive than College Station-Bryan. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in College Station-Bryan?
A $100,000 salary in College Station-Bryan has the same purchasing power as $108,053 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between College Station-Bryan and Merced?
Rents in College Station-Bryan are indexed at 75.1 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Merced 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.