Overall
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff +0.6 RPP
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux vs Joplin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Joplin is 0.7% more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux.
0.7% more expensive
Joplin, MO-KS is 0.7% more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.7 vs 85.1). A $100,000 salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux buys about the same as $100,723 in Joplin; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.1 (Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux) vs 85.7 (Joplin)
- $100k in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux ≈ $100,723 purchasing power in Joplin
- Services drives the gap (+14.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:MO 85.1→85.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE LA × MO
- SERVICES-LED Services-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.
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
85.1
Cost Index
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA and Joplin, MO-KS 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.
Services leads the difference, with Joplin 14.6 points higher than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux to $100,723 in Joplin, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Joplin
- 94.2
Diff +0.5 RPP
Services
- Joplin
- 85.9
Diff +14.6 RPP
Rents
- Joplin
- 54.0
Diff +2.7 RPP
| Category | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.1 | 85.7 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 94.2 | +0.5 |
| Services | 71.3 | 85.9 | +14.6 |
| Rents | 51.3 | 54.0 | +2.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 85.1
Joplin 85.7
Goods
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 93.7
Joplin 94.2
Services
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 71.3
Joplin 85.9
Rents
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 51.3
Joplin 54.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux would need to be in Joplin for the same purchasing power:
| In Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | In Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,361 | +$361 |
| $75,000 | $75,542 | +$542 |
| $100,000 | $100,723 | +$723 |
| $150,000 | $151,084 | +$1,084 |
$ in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux = in Joplin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.1 → 85.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Joplin more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux?
Joplin is 0.7% more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux. The overall cost index is 85.7 vs 85.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Joplin equals $100K in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux?
A $100,000 salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux has the same purchasing power as $100,723 in Joplin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux and Joplin?
Rents in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux are indexed at 51.3 while Joplin is at 54.0 (national average = 100). Joplin 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.