Overall
Diff +1.0 RPP
Kenosha vs Fresno
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fresno is 1% more expensive than Kenosha.
1% more expensive
Fresno, CA is 1% more expensive than Kenosha, WI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.2 vs 101.1). A $100,000 salary in Kenosha buys about the same as $101,029 in Fresno; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 101.1 (Kenosha) vs 102.2 (Fresno)
- $100k in Kenosha ≈ $101,029 purchasing power in Fresno
- Services drives the gap (+75.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:CA 101.1→102.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × CA
- 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.
Kenosha
101.1
Cost Index
Fresno
102.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Kenosha, WI and Fresno, CA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Fresno is 75.2 points higher. But goods 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 Kenosha to $101,029 in Fresno, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -1.0 RPP
Services
Diff +75.2 RPP
Rents
Diff -0.1 RPP
| Category | Kenosha | Fresno | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.1 | 102.2 | +1.0 |
| Goods | 106.2 | 105.2 | -1.0 |
| Services | 85.9 | 161.0 | +75.2 |
| Rents | 95.8 | 95.7 | -0.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Kenosha 101.1
Fresno 102.2
Goods
Kenosha 106.2
Fresno 105.2
Services
Kenosha 85.9
Fresno 161.0
Rents
Kenosha 95.8
Fresno 95.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Kenosha would need to be in Fresno for the same purchasing power:
| In Kenosha | In Fresno | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,514 | +$514 |
| $75,000 | $75,771 | +$771 |
| $100,000 | $101,029 | +$1,029 |
| $150,000 | $151,543 | +$1,543 |
$ in Kenosha = in Fresno
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.1 → 102.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fresno more expensive than Kenosha?
Fresno is 1% more expensive than Kenosha. The overall cost index is 102.2 vs 101.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fresno equals $100K in Kenosha?
A $100,000 salary in Kenosha has the same purchasing power as $101,029 in Fresno. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Kenosha and Fresno?
Rents in Kenosha are indexed at 95.8 while Fresno is at 95.7 (national average = 100). Kenosha 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.