Overall
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff -0.6 RPP
Joplin vs Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is 0.7% less expensive than Joplin.
0.7% less expensive
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA is 0.7% less expensive than Joplin, MO-KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.1 vs 85.7). A $100,000 salary in Joplin buys about the same as $99,283 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.7 (Joplin) vs 85.1 (Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux)
- $100k in Joplin ≈ $99,283 purchasing power in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
- Services drives the gap (-14.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MO:LA 85.7→85.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MO × LA
- 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.
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
85.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Joplin, MO-KS and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 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 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 14.6 points lower than Joplin. 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 Joplin to $99,283 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, 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 | Joplin | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.7 | 85.1 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 93.7 | -0.5 |
| Services | 85.9 | 71.3 | -14.6 |
| Rents | 54.0 | 51.3 | -2.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Joplin 85.7
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 85.1
Goods
Joplin 94.2
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 93.7
Services
Joplin 85.9
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 71.3
Rents
Joplin 54.0
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 51.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Joplin would need to be in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux for the same purchasing power:
| In Joplin | In Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,641 | $-359 |
| $75,000 | $74,462 | $-538 |
| $100,000 | $99,283 | $-717 |
| $150,000 | $148,924 | $-1,076 |
$ in Joplin = in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.7 → 85.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux more expensive than Joplin?
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is 0.7% less expensive than Joplin. The overall cost index is 85.1 vs 85.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux equals $100K in Joplin?
A $100,000 salary in Joplin has the same purchasing power as $99,283 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Joplin and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux?
Rents in Joplin are indexed at 54.0 while Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is at 51.3 (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.