Overall
- Kennewick-Richland
- 100.1
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 103.3
Diff +3.2 RPP
Kennewick-Richland vs Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is 3.2% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland.
3.2% more expensive
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ is 3.2% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.3 vs 100.1). A $100,000 salary in Kennewick-Richland buys about the same as $103,234 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.1 (Kennewick-Richland) vs 103.3 (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler)
- $100k in Kennewick-Richland ≈ $103,234 purchasing power in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- Rents drives the gap (+26.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:AZ 100.1→103.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × AZ
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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
- Kennewick-Richland
- 105.0
Diff -10.0 RPP
Services
- Kennewick-Richland
- 93.6
Diff -0.2 RPP
Rents
- Kennewick-Richland
- 94.8
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
- 121.2
Diff +26.4 RPP
| Category | Kennewick-Richland | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.1 | 103.3 | +3.2 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 95.0 | -10.0 |
| Services | 93.6 | 93.3 | -0.2 |
| Rents | 94.8 | 121.2 | +26.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kennewick-Richland 100.1
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 103.3
Goods
Kennewick-Richland 105.0
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 95.0
Services
Kennewick-Richland 93.6
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 93.3
Rents
Kennewick-Richland 94.8
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 121.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is 26.4 points higher. But goods and services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ is 3.2% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.2-point overall gap.
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.
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 Kennewick-Richland corresponds to $103,234 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler.
Kennewick-Richland
100.1
Cost Index
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
103.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kennewick-Richland would need to be in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler for the same purchasing power:
| In Kennewick-Richland | In Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,617 | +$1,617 |
| $75,000 | $77,426 | +$2,426 |
| $100,000 | $103,234 | +$3,234 |
| $150,000 | $154,852 | +$4,852 |
$ in Kennewick-Richland = in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.1 → 103.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Kennewick-Richland and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 11.5 to 3.2 RPP points. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 28.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (28.1 to 0.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Kennewick-Richland RPP | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.2 | 105.7 | 11.5 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
| 2012 | 99.3 | 98.7 | 0.6 points Kennewick-Richland higher |
| 2016 | 97.4 | 100.4 | 3.1 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
| 2020 | 99.8 | 102.8 | 3.0 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler higher |
| 2024 | 100.1 | 103.3 | 3.2 points Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler more expensive than Kennewick-Richland?
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is 3.2% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland. The overall cost index is 103.3 vs 100.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler equals $100K in Kennewick-Richland?
A $100,000 salary in Kennewick-Richland has the same purchasing power as $103,234 in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kennewick-Richland and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler?
Rents in Kennewick-Richland are indexed at 94.8 while Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is at 121.2 (national average = 100). Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler 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.