Overall
- Kennewick-Richland
- 100.1
- Asheville
- 96.5
Diff -3.6 RPP
Kennewick-Richland vs Asheville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Asheville is 3.6% less expensive than Kennewick-Richland.
3.6% less expensive
Asheville, NC is 3.6% less expensive than Kennewick-Richland, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.5 vs 100.1). A $100,000 salary in Kennewick-Richland buys about the same as $96,430 in Asheville; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 100.1 (Kennewick-Richland) vs 96.5 (Asheville)
- $100k in Kennewick-Richland ≈ $96,430 purchasing power in Asheville
- Goods drives the gap (-8.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:NC 100.1→96.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · GOODS-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × NC
- GOODS-LED Goods-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- 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.
How the Price Gap Changed
Kennewick-Richland and Asheville share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.2 to 3.6 RPP points. Kennewick-Richland remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 18.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (13.2 to 4.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Kennewick-Richland RPP | Asheville RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.2 | 94.4 | 0.2 points Asheville higher |
| 2012 | 99.3 | 95.1 | 4.3 points Kennewick-Richland higher |
| 2016 | 97.4 | 96.5 | 0.9 points Kennewick-Richland higher |
| 2020 | 99.8 | 94.1 | 5.7 points Kennewick-Richland higher |
| 2024 | 100.1 | 96.5 | 3.6 points Kennewick-Richland 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Asheville, NC is 3.6% less expensive than Kennewick-Richland, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.6-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Kennewick-Richland is above 100 while Asheville is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Goods leads the difference, with Asheville 8.4 points lower than Kennewick-Richland. 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.
For a goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $96,430 in Asheville as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Kennewick-Richland, then replace the national basket with your own.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kennewick-Richland would need to be in Asheville for the same purchasing power:
| In Kennewick-Richland | In Asheville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,215 | $-1,785 |
| $75,000 | $72,322 | $-2,678 |
| $100,000 | $96,430 | $-3,570 |
| $150,000 | $144,645 | $-5,355 |
$ in Kennewick-Richland = in Asheville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.1 → 96.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Kennewick-Richland
- 105.0
- Asheville
- 96.6
Diff -8.4 RPP
Services
- Kennewick-Richland
- 93.6
- Asheville
- 88.6
Diff -4.9 RPP
Rents
- Kennewick-Richland
- 94.8
- Asheville
- 93.4
Diff -1.5 RPP
| Category | Kennewick-Richland | Asheville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.1 | 96.5 | -3.6 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 96.6 | -8.4 |
| Services | 93.6 | 88.6 | -4.9 |
| Rents | 94.8 | 93.4 | -1.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kennewick-Richland 100.1
Asheville 96.5
Goods
Kennewick-Richland 105.0
Asheville 96.6
Services
Kennewick-Richland 93.6
Asheville 88.6
Rents
Kennewick-Richland 94.8
Asheville 93.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Kennewick-Richland
100.1
Cost Index
Asheville
96.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Asheville more expensive than Kennewick-Richland?
Asheville is 3.6% less expensive than Kennewick-Richland. The overall cost index is 96.5 vs 100.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Asheville equals $100K in Kennewick-Richland?
A $100,000 salary in Kennewick-Richland has the same purchasing power as $96,430 in Asheville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kennewick-Richland and Asheville?
Rents in Kennewick-Richland are indexed at 94.8 while Asheville is at 93.4 (national average = 100). Kennewick-Richland 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.