Overall
Diff +10.9 RPP
Dubuque vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 12.5% more expensive than Dubuque.
12.5% more expensive
Merced, CA is 12.5% more expensive than Dubuque, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 87.3). A $100,000 salary in Dubuque buys about the same as $112,535 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.3 (Dubuque) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Dubuque ≈ $112,535 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+77.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:CA 87.3→98.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IA × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Dubuque, IA and Merced, CA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 77.1 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Dubuque to $112,535 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +11.4 RPP
Services
Diff +77.1 RPP
Rents
Diff +14.6 RPP
| Category | Dubuque | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.3 | 98.3 | +10.9 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 105.2 | +11.4 |
| Services | 81.2 | 158.3 | +77.1 |
| Rents | 64.0 | 78.6 | +14.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dubuque 87.3
Merced 98.3
Goods
Dubuque 93.7
Merced 105.2
Services
Dubuque 81.2
Merced 158.3
Rents
Dubuque 64.0
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dubuque would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Dubuque | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $56,268 | +$6,268 |
| $75,000 | $84,402 | +$9,402 |
| $100,000 | $112,535 | +$12,535 |
| $150,000 | $168,803 | +$18,803 |
$ in Dubuque = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.3 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Dubuque?
Merced is 12.5% more expensive than Dubuque. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 87.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Dubuque?
A $100,000 salary in Dubuque has the same purchasing power as $112,535 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dubuque and Merced?
Rents in Dubuque are indexed at 64.0 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Merced 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.