Overall
- Dubuque
- 87.3
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 87.1
Diff -0.3 RPP
Dubuque vs Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Waterloo-Cedar Falls is 0.3% less expensive than Dubuque.
0.3% less expensive
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA is 0.3% less expensive than Dubuque, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.1 vs 87.3). A $100,000 salary in Dubuque buys about the same as $99,690 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.3 (Dubuque) vs 87.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls)
- $100k in Dubuque ≈ $99,690 purchasing power in Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- Services drives the gap (+2.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:IA 87.3→87.1
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · 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.
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Waterloo-Cedar Falls
87.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Dubuque, IA and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 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: Waterloo-Cedar Falls is 2.5 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 Dubuque to $99,690 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dubuque
- 93.7
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 93.7
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Dubuque
- 81.2
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 83.7
Diff +2.5 RPP
Rents
- Dubuque
- 64.0
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 63.1
Diff -0.9 RPP
| Category | Dubuque | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.3 | 87.1 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.7 | 0.0 |
| Services | 81.2 | 83.7 | +2.5 |
| Rents | 64.0 | 63.1 | -0.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dubuque 87.3
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 87.1
Goods
Dubuque 93.7
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 93.7
Services
Dubuque 81.2
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 83.7
Rents
Dubuque 64.0
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 63.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dubuque would need to be in Waterloo-Cedar Falls for the same purchasing power:
| In Dubuque | In Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,845 | $-155 |
| $75,000 | $74,767 | $-233 |
| $100,000 | $99,690 | $-310 |
| $150,000 | $149,535 | $-465 |
$ in Dubuque = in Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.3 → 87.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Waterloo-Cedar Falls more expensive than Dubuque?
Waterloo-Cedar Falls is 0.3% less expensive than Dubuque. The overall cost index is 87.1 vs 87.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls equals $100K in Dubuque?
A $100,000 salary in Dubuque has the same purchasing power as $99,690 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dubuque and Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
Rents in Dubuque are indexed at 64.0 while Waterloo-Cedar Falls is at 63.1 (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.