Overall
- Columbia
- 89.4
- Wichita Falls
- 89.5
Diff +0.1 RPP
Columbia vs Wichita Falls
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wichita Falls is 0.1% more expensive than Columbia.
0.1% more expensive
Wichita Falls, TX is 0.1% more expensive than Columbia, MO on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.5 vs 89.4). A $100,000 salary in Columbia buys about the same as $100,084 in Wichita Falls; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.4 (Columbia) vs 89.5 (Wichita Falls)
- $100k in Columbia ≈ $100,084 purchasing power in Wichita Falls
- Services drives the gap (-1.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MO:TX 89.4→89.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MO × TX
- 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.
Columbia
89.4
Cost Index
Wichita Falls
89.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Columbia, MO and Wichita Falls, TX 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: Wichita Falls is 1.9 points lower. But services and 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 Columbia to $100,084 in Wichita Falls, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Columbia
- 94.2
- Wichita Falls
- 93.8
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Columbia
- 86.0
- Wichita Falls
- 84.1
Diff -1.9 RPP
Rents
- Columbia
- 69.2
- Wichita Falls
- 68.2
Diff -1.0 RPP
| Category | Columbia | Wichita Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.4 | 89.5 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 93.8 | -0.4 |
| Services | 86.0 | 84.1 | -1.9 |
| Rents | 69.2 | 68.2 | -1.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Columbia 89.4
Wichita Falls 89.5
Goods
Columbia 94.2
Wichita Falls 93.8
Services
Columbia 86.0
Wichita Falls 84.1
Rents
Columbia 69.2
Wichita Falls 68.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Columbia would need to be in Wichita Falls for the same purchasing power:
| In Columbia | In Wichita Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,042 | +$42 |
| $75,000 | $75,063 | +$63 |
| $100,000 | $100,084 | +$84 |
| $150,000 | $150,126 | +$126 |
$ in Columbia = in Wichita Falls
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.4 → 89.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wichita Falls more expensive than Columbia?
Wichita Falls is 0.1% more expensive than Columbia. The overall cost index is 89.5 vs 89.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wichita Falls equals $100K in Columbia?
A $100,000 salary in Columbia has the same purchasing power as $100,084 in Wichita Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Columbia and Wichita Falls?
Rents in Columbia are indexed at 69.2 while Wichita Falls is at 68.2 (national average = 100). Columbia 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.