Overall
- Dubuque
- 87.3
Diff +26.2 RPP
Dubuque vs Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is 30% more expensive than Dubuque.
30% more expensive
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is 30% more expensive than Dubuque, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 113.6 vs 87.3). A $100,000 salary in Dubuque buys about the same as $130,045 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.3 (Dubuque) vs 113.6 (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim)
- $100k in Dubuque ≈ $130,045 purchasing power in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
- Rents drives the gap (+106.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:CA 87.3→113.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IA × CA
- 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 Dubuque would need to be in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim for the same purchasing power:
| In Dubuque | In Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $65,023 | +$15,023 |
| $75,000 | $97,534 | +$22,534 |
| $100,000 | $130,045 | +$30,045 |
| $150,000 | $195,068 | +$45,068 |
$ in Dubuque = in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.3 → 113.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dubuque, IA and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 26.2 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 106.4 points higher than Dubuque. 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 Dubuque corresponds to $130,045 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dubuque
- 93.7
Diff +12.9 RPP
Services
- Dubuque
- 81.2
Diff +77.4 RPP
Rents
- Dubuque
- 64.0
Diff +106.4 RPP
| Category | Dubuque | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.3 | 113.6 | +26.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 106.6 | +12.9 |
| Services | 81.2 | 158.6 | +77.4 |
| Rents | 64.0 | 170.4 | +106.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dubuque 87.3
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 113.6
Goods
Dubuque 93.7
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 106.6
Services
Dubuque 81.2
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 158.6
Rents
Dubuque 64.0
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 170.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
113.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim more expensive than Dubuque?
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is 30% more expensive than Dubuque. The overall cost index is 113.6 vs 87.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim equals $100K in Dubuque?
A $100,000 salary in Dubuque has the same purchasing power as $130,045 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dubuque and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?
Rents in Dubuque are indexed at 64.0 while Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is at 170.4 (national average = 100). Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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.