Overall
- Great Falls
- 96.8
Diff +0.3 RPP
Great Falls vs Lakeland-Winter Haven
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lakeland-Winter Haven is 0.3% more expensive than Great Falls.
0.3% more expensive
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL is 0.3% more expensive than Great Falls, MT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.1 vs 96.8). A $100,000 salary in Great Falls buys about the same as $100,306 in Lakeland-Winter Haven; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.8 (Great Falls) vs 97.1 (Lakeland-Winter Haven)
- $100k in Great Falls ≈ $100,306 purchasing power in Lakeland-Winter Haven
- Services drives the gap (+13.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MT:FL 96.8→97.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MT × FL
- 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.
Great Falls
96.8
Cost Index
Lakeland-Winter Haven
97.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Great Falls, MT and Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 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: Lakeland-Winter Haven is 13.8 points higher. But rents 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 Great Falls to $100,306 in Lakeland-Winter Haven, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Great Falls
- 96.0
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Great Falls
- 73.0
Diff +13.8 RPP
Rents
- Great Falls
- 97.1
Diff -1.2 RPP
| Category | Great Falls | Lakeland-Winter Haven | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.8 | 97.1 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 96.2 | +0.2 |
| Services | 73.0 | 86.9 | +13.8 |
| Rents | 97.1 | 95.9 | -1.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Great Falls 96.8
Lakeland-Winter Haven 97.1
Goods
Great Falls 96.0
Lakeland-Winter Haven 96.2
Services
Great Falls 73.0
Lakeland-Winter Haven 86.9
Rents
Great Falls 97.1
Lakeland-Winter Haven 95.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Great Falls would need to be in Lakeland-Winter Haven for the same purchasing power:
| In Great Falls | In Lakeland-Winter Haven | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,153 | +$153 |
| $75,000 | $75,229 | +$229 |
| $100,000 | $100,306 | +$306 |
| $150,000 | $150,458 | +$458 |
$ in Great Falls = in Lakeland-Winter Haven
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.8 → 97.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lakeland-Winter Haven more expensive than Great Falls?
Lakeland-Winter Haven is 0.3% more expensive than Great Falls. The overall cost index is 97.1 vs 96.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven equals $100K in Great Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Great Falls has the same purchasing power as $100,306 in Lakeland-Winter Haven. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Great Falls and Lakeland-Winter Haven?
Rents in Great Falls are indexed at 97.1 while Lakeland-Winter Haven is at 95.9 (national average = 100). Great Falls 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.