Overall
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 91.8
- Iowa City
- 91.5
Diff -0.3 RPP
La Crosse-Onalaska vs Iowa City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Iowa City is 0.3% less expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska.
0.3% less expensive
Iowa City, IA is 0.3% less expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.5 vs 91.8). A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska buys about the same as $99,717 in Iowa City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.8 (La Crosse-Onalaska) vs 91.5 (Iowa City)
- $100k in La Crosse-Onalaska ≈ $99,717 purchasing power in Iowa City
- Rents drives the gap (+14.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:IA 91.8→91.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × IA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
La Crosse-Onalaska
91.8
Cost Index
Iowa City
91.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN and Iowa City, IA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Iowa City is 14.6 points higher. But 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 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 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 La Crosse-Onalaska corresponds to $99,717 in Iowa City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 93.8
- Iowa City
- 93.7
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 89.5
- Iowa City
- 83.7
Diff -5.9 RPP
Rents
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 69.4
- Iowa City
- 84.0
Diff +14.6 RPP
| Category | La Crosse-Onalaska | Iowa City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.8 | 91.5 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.7 | -0.1 |
| Services | 89.5 | 83.7 | -5.9 |
| Rents | 69.4 | 84.0 | +14.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
La Crosse-Onalaska 91.8
Iowa City 91.5
Goods
La Crosse-Onalaska 93.8
Iowa City 93.7
Services
La Crosse-Onalaska 89.5
Iowa City 83.7
Rents
La Crosse-Onalaska 69.4
Iowa City 84.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in La Crosse-Onalaska would need to be in Iowa City for the same purchasing power:
| In La Crosse-Onalaska | In Iowa City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,858 | $-142 |
| $75,000 | $74,788 | $-212 |
| $100,000 | $99,717 | $-283 |
| $150,000 | $149,575 | $-425 |
$ in La Crosse-Onalaska = in Iowa City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.8 → 91.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Iowa City more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska?
Iowa City is 0.3% less expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska. The overall cost index is 91.5 vs 91.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Iowa City equals $100K in La Crosse-Onalaska?
A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska has the same purchasing power as $99,717 in Iowa City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between La Crosse-Onalaska and Iowa City?
Rents in La Crosse-Onalaska are indexed at 69.4 while Iowa City is at 84.0 (national average = 100). Iowa City 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.