Overall
Diff -0.1 RPP
Columbia vs Billings
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Billings is 0.1% less expensive than Columbia.
0.1% less expensive
Billings, MT is 0.1% less expensive than Columbia, SC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.5 vs 93.7). A $100,000 salary in Columbia buys about the same as $99,855 in Billings; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 93.7 (Columbia) vs 93.5 (Billings)
- $100k in Columbia ≈ $99,855 purchasing power in Billings
- Services drives the gap (-15.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SC:MT 93.7→93.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SC × MT
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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
93.7
Cost Index
Billings
93.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Columbia, SC and Billings, MT 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 leads the difference, with Billings 15.9 points lower than Columbia. 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.
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 $99,855 in Billings, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -0.3 RPP
Services
Diff -15.9 RPP
Rents
Diff -2.1 RPP
| Category | Columbia | Billings | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.7 | 93.5 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.0 | -0.3 |
| Services | 88.3 | 72.4 | -15.9 |
| Rents | 79.5 | 77.4 | -2.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Columbia 93.7
Billings 93.5
Goods
Columbia 96.3
Billings 96.0
Services
Columbia 88.3
Billings 72.4
Rents
Columbia 79.5
Billings 77.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Columbia would need to be in Billings for the same purchasing power:
| In Columbia | In Billings | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,927 | $-73 |
| $75,000 | $74,891 | $-109 |
| $100,000 | $99,855 | $-145 |
| $150,000 | $149,782 | $-218 |
$ in Columbia = in Billings
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.7 → 93.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Billings more expensive than Columbia?
Billings is 0.1% less expensive than Columbia. The overall cost index is 93.5 vs 93.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Billings equals $100K in Columbia?
A $100,000 salary in Columbia has the same purchasing power as $99,855 in Billings. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Columbia and Billings?
Rents in Columbia are indexed at 79.5 while Billings is at 77.4 (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.