Overall
- Grand Island
- 86.7
- Lawton
- 85.9
Diff -0.7 RPP
Grand Island vs Lawton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lawton is 0.8% less expensive than Grand Island.
0.8% less expensive
Lawton, OK is 0.8% less expensive than Grand Island, NE on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 86.7). A $100,000 salary in Grand Island buys about the same as $99,174 in Lawton; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 86.7 (Grand Island) vs 85.9 (Lawton)
- $100k in Grand Island ≈ $99,174 purchasing power in Lawton
- Rents drives the gap (-4.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NE:OK 86.7→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NE × OK
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Grand Island
86.7
Cost Index
Lawton
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Grand Island, NE and Lawton, OK are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents leads the difference, with Lawton 4.4 points lower than Grand Island. 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.
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 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 Grand Island corresponds to $99,174 in Lawton.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Grand Island
- 94.1
- Lawton
- 93.8
Diff -0.3 RPP
Services
- Grand Island
- 74.2
- Lawton
- 73.0
Diff -1.3 RPP
Rents
- Grand Island
- 61.7
- Lawton
- 57.4
Diff -4.4 RPP
| Category | Grand Island | Lawton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 86.7 | 85.9 | -0.7 |
| Goods | 94.1 | 93.8 | -0.3 |
| Services | 74.2 | 73.0 | -1.3 |
| Rents | 61.7 | 57.4 | -4.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Grand Island 86.7
Lawton 85.9
Goods
Grand Island 94.1
Lawton 93.8
Services
Grand Island 74.2
Lawton 73.0
Rents
Grand Island 61.7
Lawton 57.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Grand Island would need to be in Lawton for the same purchasing power:
| In Grand Island | In Lawton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,587 | $-413 |
| $75,000 | $74,380 | $-620 |
| $100,000 | $99,174 | $-826 |
| $150,000 | $148,761 | $-1,239 |
$ in Grand Island = in Lawton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (86.7 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lawton more expensive than Grand Island?
Lawton is 0.8% less expensive than Grand Island. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 86.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lawton equals $100K in Grand Island?
A $100,000 salary in Grand Island has the same purchasing power as $99,174 in Lawton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Grand Island and Lawton?
Rents in Grand Island are indexed at 61.7 while Lawton is at 57.4 (national average = 100). Grand Island 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.