Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff -1.1 RPP
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 1.1% less expensive than Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach.
1.1% less expensive
Merced, CA is 1.1% less expensive than Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 99.4). A $100,000 salary in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach buys about the same as $98,901 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 99.4 (Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach ≈ $98,901 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+70.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:CA 99.4→98.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × CA
- 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.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach
99.4
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL and Merced, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Merced is 70.8 points higher. But services 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 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach to $98,901 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +8.9 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +70.8 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff -29.7 RPP
| Category | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 99.4 | 98.3 | -1.1 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 105.2 | +8.9 |
| Services | 87.6 | 158.3 | +70.8 |
| Rents | 108.4 | 78.6 | -29.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 99.4
Merced 98.3
Goods
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 96.2
Merced 105.2
Services
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 87.6
Merced 158.3
Rents
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 108.4
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,451 | $-549 |
| $75,000 | $74,176 | $-824 |
| $100,000 | $98,901 | $-1,099 |
| $150,000 | $148,352 | $-1,648 |
$ in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (99.4 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach?
Merced is 1.1% less expensive than Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 99.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach?
A $100,000 salary in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach has the same purchasing power as $98,901 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach and Merced?
Rents in Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach are indexed at 108.4 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 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.