Overall
- Kennewick-Richland
- 100.1
- Salem
- 103.6
Diff +3.6 RPP
Kennewick-Richland vs Salem
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Salem is 3.6% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland.
3.6% more expensive
Salem, OR is 3.6% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 100.1). A $100,000 salary in Kennewick-Richland buys about the same as $103,567 in Salem; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 100.1 (Kennewick-Richland) vs 103.6 (Salem)
- $100k in Kennewick-Richland ≈ $103,567 purchasing power in Salem
- Rents drives the gap (+15.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:OR 100.1→103.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × OR
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kennewick-Richland would need to be in Salem for the same purchasing power:
| In Kennewick-Richland | In Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,784 | +$1,784 |
| $75,000 | $77,675 | +$2,675 |
| $100,000 | $103,567 | +$3,567 |
| $150,000 | $155,351 | +$5,351 |
$ in Kennewick-Richland = in Salem
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (100.1 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Salem, OR is 3.6% more 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.
Rents leads the difference, with Salem 15.5 points higher 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 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 $103,567 in Salem.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Kennewick-Richland
- 105.0
- Salem
- 105.3
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Kennewick-Richland
- 93.6
- Salem
- 104.7
Diff +11.1 RPP
Rents
- Kennewick-Richland
- 94.8
- Salem
- 110.3
Diff +15.5 RPP
| Category | Kennewick-Richland | Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 100.1 | 103.6 | +3.6 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 105.3 | +0.2 |
| Services | 93.6 | 104.7 | +11.1 |
| Rents | 94.8 | 110.3 | +15.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kennewick-Richland 100.1
Salem 103.6
Goods
Kennewick-Richland 105.0
Salem 105.3
Services
Kennewick-Richland 93.6
Salem 104.7
Rents
Kennewick-Richland 94.8
Salem 110.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Kennewick-Richland
100.1
Cost Index
Salem
103.6
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Kennewick-Richland and Salem share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.0 to 3.6 RPP points. Salem remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 18.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (2.8 to 15.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Kennewick-Richland RPP | Salem RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.2 | 94.1 | 0.0 points Kennewick-Richland higher |
| 2012 | 99.3 | 101.1 | 1.8 points Salem higher |
| 2016 | 97.4 | 97.1 | 0.3 points Kennewick-Richland higher |
| 2020 | 99.8 | 100.9 | 1.2 points Salem higher |
| 2024 | 100.1 | 103.6 | 3.6 points Salem 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 Salem more expensive than Kennewick-Richland?
Salem is 3.6% more expensive than Kennewick-Richland. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 100.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Salem equals $100K in Kennewick-Richland?
A $100,000 salary in Kennewick-Richland has the same purchasing power as $103,567 in Salem. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kennewick-Richland and Salem?
Rents in Kennewick-Richland are indexed at 94.8 while Salem is at 110.3 (national average = 100). Salem 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.