Overall
Diff +0.7 RPP
Ithaca vs Corvallis
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Corvallis is 0.7% more expensive than Ithaca.
0.7% more expensive
Corvallis, OR is 0.7% more expensive than Ithaca, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 104.0 vs 103.3). A $100,000 salary in Ithaca buys about the same as $100,678 in Corvallis; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.3 (Ithaca) vs 104.0 (Corvallis)
- $100k in Ithaca ≈ $100,678 purchasing power in Corvallis
- Services drives the gap (-23.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:OR 103.3→104.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × OR
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Ithaca
103.3
Cost Index
Corvallis
104.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Ithaca, NY and Corvallis, OR 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Corvallis is 23.0 points lower. But services and 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Ithaca to $100,678 in Corvallis, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +5.6 RPP
Services
Diff -23.0 RPP
Rents
Diff -13.9 RPP
| Category | Ithaca | Corvallis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.3 | 104.0 | +0.7 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 105.3 | +5.6 |
| Services | 131.6 | 108.6 | -23.0 |
| Rents | 128.4 | 114.4 | -13.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Ithaca 103.3
Corvallis 104.0
Goods
Ithaca 99.7
Corvallis 105.3
Services
Ithaca 131.6
Corvallis 108.6
Rents
Ithaca 128.4
Corvallis 114.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Ithaca would need to be in Corvallis for the same purchasing power:
| In Ithaca | In Corvallis | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,339 | +$339 |
| $75,000 | $75,508 | +$508 |
| $100,000 | $100,678 | +$678 |
| $150,000 | $151,016 | +$1,016 |
$ in Ithaca = in Corvallis
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.3 → 104.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Corvallis more expensive than Ithaca?
Corvallis is 0.7% more expensive than Ithaca. The overall cost index is 104.0 vs 103.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Corvallis equals $100K in Ithaca?
A $100,000 salary in Ithaca has the same purchasing power as $100,678 in Corvallis. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Ithaca and Corvallis?
Rents in Ithaca are indexed at 128.4 while Corvallis is at 114.4 (national average = 100). Ithaca 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.