Overall
- Decatur
- 87.2
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 87.1
Diff -0.2 RPP
Decatur vs Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Waterloo-Cedar Falls is 0.2% less expensive than Decatur.
0.2% less expensive
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA is 0.2% less expensive than Decatur, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.1 vs 87.2). A $100,000 salary in Decatur buys about the same as $99,822 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.2 (Decatur) vs 87.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls)
- $100k in Decatur ≈ $99,822 purchasing power in Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- Rents drives the gap (+5.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:IA 87.2→87.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × IA
- 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.
Decatur
87.2
Cost Index
Waterloo-Cedar Falls
87.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Decatur, AL and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Waterloo-Cedar Falls is 5.1 points higher. But rents 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 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 Decatur corresponds to $99,822 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Decatur
- 96.4
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 93.7
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
- Decatur
- 84.7
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 83.7
Diff -1.1 RPP
Rents
- Decatur
- 58.1
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 63.1
Diff +5.1 RPP
| Category | Decatur | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.2 | 87.1 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.7 | -2.7 |
| Services | 84.7 | 83.7 | -1.1 |
| Rents | 58.1 | 63.1 | +5.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Decatur 87.2
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 87.1
Goods
Decatur 96.4
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 93.7
Services
Decatur 84.7
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 83.7
Rents
Decatur 58.1
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 63.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Decatur would need to be in Waterloo-Cedar Falls for the same purchasing power:
| In Decatur | In Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,911 | $-89 |
| $75,000 | $74,867 | $-133 |
| $100,000 | $99,822 | $-178 |
| $150,000 | $149,733 | $-267 |
$ in Decatur = in Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.2 → 87.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Waterloo-Cedar Falls more expensive than Decatur?
Waterloo-Cedar Falls is 0.2% less expensive than Decatur. The overall cost index is 87.1 vs 87.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls equals $100K in Decatur?
A $100,000 salary in Decatur has the same purchasing power as $99,822 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Decatur and Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
Rents in Decatur are indexed at 58.1 while Waterloo-Cedar Falls is at 63.1 (national average = 100). Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.