Overall
- Fairbanks-College
- 103.2
- Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
- 103.9
Diff +0.6 RPP
Fairbanks-College vs Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is 0.6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College.
0.6% more expensive
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA is 0.6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College, AK on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.9 vs 103.2). A $100,000 salary in Fairbanks-College buys about the same as $100,627 in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.2 (Fairbanks-College) vs 103.9 (Wenatchee-East Wenatchee)
- $100k in Fairbanks-College ≈ $100,627 purchasing power in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
- Rents drives the gap (+22.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AK:WA 103.2→103.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AK × WA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Fairbanks-College
103.2
Cost Index
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
103.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fairbanks-College, AK and Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is 22.4 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Fairbanks-College corresponds to $100,627 in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fairbanks-College
- 107.3
- Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
- 105.0
Diff -2.3 RPP
Services
- Fairbanks-College
- 119.8
- Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
- 100.6
Diff -19.2 RPP
Rents
- Fairbanks-College
- 92.6
- Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
- 115.0
Diff +22.4 RPP
| Category | Fairbanks-College | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.2 | 103.9 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 107.3 | 105.0 | -2.3 |
| Services | 119.8 | 100.6 | -19.2 |
| Rents | 92.6 | 115.0 | +22.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fairbanks-College 103.2
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 103.9
Goods
Fairbanks-College 107.3
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 105.0
Services
Fairbanks-College 119.8
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 100.6
Rents
Fairbanks-College 92.6
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 115.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Fairbanks-College and Wenatchee-East Wenatchee share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 6.9 to 0.6 RPP points. Wenatchee-East Wenatchee remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 55.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (33.3 to 22.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Fairbanks-College RPP | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 104.7 | 97.8 | 6.9 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2012 | 97.9 | 97.0 | 1.0 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2016 | 100.4 | 97.6 | 2.8 points Fairbanks-College higher |
| 2020 | 99.4 | 102.4 | 3.0 points Wenatchee-East Wenatchee higher |
| 2024 | 103.2 | 103.9 | 0.6 points Wenatchee-East Wenatchee higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fairbanks-College would need to be in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee for the same purchasing power:
| In Fairbanks-College | In Wenatchee-East Wenatchee | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,313 | +$313 |
| $75,000 | $75,470 | +$470 |
| $100,000 | $100,627 | +$627 |
| $150,000 | $150,940 | +$940 |
$ in Fairbanks-College = in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.2 → 103.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wenatchee-East Wenatchee more expensive than Fairbanks-College?
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is 0.6% more expensive than Fairbanks-College. The overall cost index is 103.9 vs 103.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee equals $100K in Fairbanks-College?
A $100,000 salary in Fairbanks-College has the same purchasing power as $100,627 in Wenatchee-East Wenatchee. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fairbanks-College and Wenatchee-East Wenatchee?
Rents in Fairbanks-College are indexed at 92.6 while Wenatchee-East Wenatchee is at 115.0 (national average = 100). Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 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.