Overall
- Dubuque
- 87.3
Diff -15.8 RPP
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington vs Dubuque
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dubuque is 15.3% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
15.3% less expensive
Dubuque, IA is 15.3% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.3 vs 103.1). A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington buys about the same as $84,710 in Dubuque; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.1 (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) vs 87.3 (Dubuque)
- $100k in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ≈ $84,710 purchasing power in Dubuque
- Rents drives the gap (-53.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:IA 103.1→87.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE TX × IA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington would need to be in Dubuque for the same purchasing power:
| In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | In Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $42,355 | $-7,645 |
| $75,000 | $63,533 | $-11,467 |
| $100,000 | $84,710 | $-15,290 |
| $150,000 | $127,066 | $-22,934 |
$ in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington = in Dubuque
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.1 → 87.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX and Dubuque, IA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 15.8 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is above 100 while Dubuque is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Dubuque 53.8 points lower than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. 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 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington corresponds to $84,710 in Dubuque.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dubuque
- 93.7
Diff -9.1 RPP
Services
- Dubuque
- 81.2
Diff -9.5 RPP
Rents
- Dubuque
- 64.0
Diff -53.8 RPP
| Category | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.1 | 87.3 | -15.8 |
| Goods | 102.8 | 93.7 | -9.1 |
| Services | 90.7 | 81.2 | -9.5 |
| Rents | 117.9 | 64.0 | -53.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 103.1
Dubuque 87.3
Goods
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 102.8
Dubuque 93.7
Services
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 90.7
Dubuque 81.2
Rents
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 117.9
Dubuque 64.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
103.1
Cost Index
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubuque more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
Dubuque is 15.3% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. The overall cost index is 87.3 vs 103.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dubuque equals $100K in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has the same purchasing power as $84,710 in Dubuque. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Dubuque?
Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington are indexed at 117.9 while Dubuque is at 64.0 (national average = 100). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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.