Overall
- Idaho Falls
- 94.4
- Elmira
- 94.4
Diff -0.0 RPP
Idaho Falls vs Elmira
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Elmira is 0% less expensive than Idaho Falls.
0% less expensive
Elmira, NY is 0% less expensive than Idaho Falls, ID on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 94.4 vs 94.4). A $100,000 salary in Idaho Falls buys about the same as $99,985 in Elmira; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.4 (Idaho Falls) vs 94.4 (Elmira)
- $100k in Idaho Falls ≈ $99,985 purchasing power in Elmira
- Services drives the gap (+61.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:NY 94.4→94.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ID × NY
- 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.
Idaho Falls
94.4
Cost Index
Elmira
94.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Idaho Falls, ID and Elmira, NY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Elmira is 61.9 points higher. But services and goods 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 Idaho Falls to $99,985 in Elmira, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Idaho Falls
- 96.2
- Elmira
- 99.7
Diff +3.5 RPP
Services
- Idaho Falls
- 69.7
- Elmira
- 131.6
Diff +61.9 RPP
Rents
- Idaho Falls
- 84.0
- Elmira
- 76.4
Diff -7.6 RPP
| Category | Idaho Falls | Elmira | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.4 | 94.4 | -0.0 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 99.7 | +3.5 |
| Services | 69.7 | 131.6 | +61.9 |
| Rents | 84.0 | 76.4 | -7.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Idaho Falls 94.4
Elmira 94.4
Goods
Idaho Falls 96.2
Elmira 99.7
Services
Idaho Falls 69.7
Elmira 131.6
Rents
Idaho Falls 84.0
Elmira 76.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Idaho Falls and Elmira share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.5 to 0.0 RPP points. Idaho Falls remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 12.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (74.2 to 61.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Idaho Falls RPP | Elmira RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.2 | 95.7 | 0.5 points Elmira higher |
| 2012 | 93.2 | 94.4 | 1.2 points Elmira higher |
| 2016 | 95.4 | 95.3 | 0.1 points Idaho Falls higher |
| 2020 | 90.9 | 95.3 | 4.4 points Elmira higher |
| 2024 | 94.4 | 94.4 | 0.0 points Idaho Falls higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Idaho Falls would need to be in Elmira for the same purchasing power:
| In Idaho Falls | In Elmira | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,993 | $-7 |
| $75,000 | $74,989 | $-11 |
| $100,000 | $99,985 | $-15 |
| $150,000 | $149,978 | $-22 |
$ in Idaho Falls = in Elmira
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.4 → 94.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elmira more expensive than Idaho Falls?
Elmira is 0% less expensive than Idaho Falls. The overall cost index is 94.4 vs 94.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Elmira equals $100K in Idaho Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Idaho Falls has the same purchasing power as $99,985 in Elmira. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Idaho Falls and Elmira?
Rents in Idaho Falls are indexed at 84.0 while Elmira is at 76.4 (national average = 100). Idaho 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.