Overall
- Fresno
- 102.2
- Coeur d'Alene
- 98.3
Diff -3.9 RPP
Fresno vs Coeur d'Alene
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Coeur d'Alene is 3.8% less expensive than Fresno.
3.8% less expensive
Coeur d'Alene, ID is 3.8% less expensive than Fresno, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 102.2). A $100,000 salary in Fresno buys about the same as $96,217 in Coeur d'Alene; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 102.2 (Fresno) vs 98.3 (Coeur d'Alene)
- $100k in Fresno ≈ $96,217 purchasing power in Coeur d'Alene
- Services drives the gap (-90.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:ID 102.2→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CA × ID
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fresno
- 105.2
- Coeur d'Alene
- 96.2
Diff -9.0 RPP
Services
- Fresno
- 161.0
- Coeur d'Alene
- 70.8
Diff -90.2 RPP
Rents
- Fresno
- 95.7
- Coeur d'Alene
- 105.6
Diff +9.9 RPP
| Category | Fresno | Coeur d'Alene | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 102.2 | 98.3 | -3.9 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 96.2 | -9.0 |
| Services | 161.0 | 70.8 | -90.2 |
| Rents | 95.7 | 105.6 | +9.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fresno 102.2
Coeur d'Alene 98.3
Goods
Fresno 105.2
Coeur d'Alene 96.2
Services
Fresno 161.0
Coeur d'Alene 70.8
Rents
Fresno 95.7
Coeur d'Alene 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Coeur d'Alene is 90.2 points lower. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Coeur d'Alene, ID is 3.8% less expensive than Fresno, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.9-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Fresno is above 100 while Coeur d'Alene is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
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 Fresno to $96,217 in Coeur d'Alene, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Fresno
102.2
Cost Index
Coeur d'Alene
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fresno would need to be in Coeur d'Alene for the same purchasing power:
| In Fresno | In Coeur d'Alene | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,108 | $-1,892 |
| $75,000 | $72,162 | $-2,838 |
| $100,000 | $96,217 | $-3,783 |
| $150,000 | $144,325 | $-5,675 |
$ in Fresno = in Coeur d'Alene
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (102.2 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Coeur d'Alene more expensive than Fresno?
Coeur d'Alene is 3.8% less expensive than Fresno. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 102.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Coeur d'Alene equals $100K in Fresno?
A $100,000 salary in Fresno has the same purchasing power as $96,217 in Coeur d'Alene. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fresno and Coeur d'Alene?
Rents in Fresno are indexed at 95.7 while Coeur d'Alene is at 105.6 (national average = 100). Coeur d'Alene 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.