Overall
- Yakima
- 95.5
Diff -3.1 RPP
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs Yakima
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Yakima is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
3.1% less expensive
Yakima, WA is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.5 vs 98.6). A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands buys about the same as $96,873 in Yakima; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands) vs 95.5 (Yakima)
- $100k in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands ≈ $96,873 purchasing power in Yakima
- Rents drives the gap (-31.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:WA 98.6→95.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × WA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- 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
- Yakima
- 105.0
Diff +4.4 RPP
Services
- Yakima
- 91.9
Diff -3.4 RPP
Rents
- Yakima
- 72.6
Diff -31.9 RPP
| Category | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Yakima | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.6 | 95.5 | -3.1 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 105.0 | +4.4 |
| Services | 95.3 | 91.9 | -3.4 |
| Rents | 104.5 | 72.6 | -31.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
Yakima 95.5
Goods
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
Yakima 105.0
Services
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
Yakima 91.9
Rents
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
Yakima 72.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Yakima is 31.9 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Yakima, WA is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.1-point overall gap.
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.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands corresponds to $96,873 in Yakima.
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
Yakima
95.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands would need to be in Yakima for the same purchasing power:
| In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | In Yakima | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,437 | $-1,563 |
| $75,000 | $72,655 | $-2,345 |
| $100,000 | $96,873 | $-3,127 |
| $150,000 | $145,310 | $-4,690 |
$ in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands = in Yakima
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.6 → 95.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yakima more expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Yakima is 3.1% less expensive than Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. The overall cost index is 95.5 vs 98.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Yakima equals $100K in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
A $100,000 salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands has the same purchasing power as $96,873 in Yakima. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands and Yakima?
Rents in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands are indexed at 104.5 while Yakima is at 72.6 (national average = 100). Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.