Overall
Diff -0.3 RPP
Dubuque vs Minot
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Minot is 0.3% less expensive than Dubuque.
0.3% less expensive
Minot, ND is 0.3% less expensive than Dubuque, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.0 vs 87.3). A $100,000 salary in Dubuque buys about the same as $99,656 in Minot; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.3 (Dubuque) vs 87.0 (Minot)
- $100k in Dubuque ≈ $99,656 purchasing power in Minot
- Services drives the gap (-8.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:ND 87.3→87.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × ND
- 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.
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Minot
87.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dubuque, IA and Minot, ND are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Minot is 8.3 points lower. But 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 Dubuque to $99,656 in Minot, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.0 RPP
Services
Diff -8.3 RPP
Rents
Diff -0.8 RPP
| Category | Dubuque | Minot | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.3 | 87.0 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 95.7 | +2.0 |
| Services | 81.2 | 72.9 | -8.3 |
| Rents | 64.0 | 63.2 | -0.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dubuque 87.3
Minot 87.0
Goods
Dubuque 93.7
Minot 95.7
Services
Dubuque 81.2
Minot 72.9
Rents
Dubuque 64.0
Minot 63.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dubuque would need to be in Minot for the same purchasing power:
| In Dubuque | In Minot | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,828 | $-172 |
| $75,000 | $74,742 | $-258 |
| $100,000 | $99,656 | $-344 |
| $150,000 | $149,485 | $-515 |
$ in Dubuque = in Minot
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.3 → 87.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Minot more expensive than Dubuque?
Minot is 0.3% less expensive than Dubuque. The overall cost index is 87.0 vs 87.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Minot equals $100K in Dubuque?
A $100,000 salary in Dubuque has the same purchasing power as $99,656 in Minot. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dubuque and Minot?
Rents in Dubuque are indexed at 64.0 while Minot is at 63.2 (national average = 100). Dubuque 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.