Overall
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 91.8
- Jacksonville
- 92.1
Diff +0.3 RPP
La Crosse-Onalaska vs Jacksonville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jacksonville is 0.3% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska.
0.3% more expensive
Jacksonville, NC is 0.3% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.1 vs 91.8). A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska buys about the same as $100,344 in Jacksonville; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 91.8 (La Crosse-Onalaska) vs 92.1 (Jacksonville)
- $100k in La Crosse-Onalaska ≈ $100,344 purchasing power in Jacksonville
- Goods drives the gap (+2.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:NC 91.8→92.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WI × NC
- 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
Jacksonville
92.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN and Jacksonville, NC 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.
Goods creates the largest separation: Jacksonville is 2.8 points higher. But services 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $100,344 in Jacksonville as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in La Crosse-Onalaska, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 93.8
- Jacksonville
- 96.6
Diff +2.8 RPP
Services
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 89.5
- Jacksonville
- 87.2
Diff -2.3 RPP
Rents
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 69.4
- Jacksonville
- 72.1
Diff +2.7 RPP
| Category | La Crosse-Onalaska | Jacksonville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.8 | 92.1 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.6 | +2.8 |
| Services | 89.5 | 87.2 | -2.3 |
| Rents | 69.4 | 72.1 | +2.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
La Crosse-Onalaska 91.8
Jacksonville 92.1
Goods
La Crosse-Onalaska 93.8
Jacksonville 96.6
Services
La Crosse-Onalaska 89.5
Jacksonville 87.2
Rents
La Crosse-Onalaska 69.4
Jacksonville 72.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in La Crosse-Onalaska would need to be in Jacksonville for the same purchasing power:
| In La Crosse-Onalaska | In Jacksonville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,172 | +$172 |
| $75,000 | $75,258 | +$258 |
| $100,000 | $100,344 | +$344 |
| $150,000 | $150,517 | +$517 |
$ in La Crosse-Onalaska = in Jacksonville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.8 → 92.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jacksonville more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska?
Jacksonville is 0.3% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska. The overall cost index is 92.1 vs 91.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jacksonville equals $100K in La Crosse-Onalaska?
A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska has the same purchasing power as $100,344 in Jacksonville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between La Crosse-Onalaska and Jacksonville?
Rents in La Crosse-Onalaska are indexed at 69.4 while Jacksonville is at 72.1 (national average = 100). Jacksonville 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.