Overall
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 91.8
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff +6.5 RPP
La Crosse-Onalaska vs Lancaster
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lancaster is 7.1% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska.
7.1% more expensive
Lancaster, PA is 7.1% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 91.8). A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska buys about the same as $107,070 in Lancaster; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.8 (La Crosse-Onalaska) vs 98.3 (Lancaster)
- $100k in La Crosse-Onalaska ≈ $107,070 purchasing power in Lancaster
- Rents drives the gap (+24.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:PA 91.8→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WI × PA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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 La Crosse-Onalaska would need to be in Lancaster for the same purchasing power:
| In La Crosse-Onalaska | In Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,535 | +$3,535 |
| $75,000 | $80,302 | +$5,302 |
| $100,000 | $107,070 | +$7,070 |
| $150,000 | $160,605 | +$10,605 |
$ in La Crosse-Onalaska = in Lancaster
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.8 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Lancaster, PA is 7.1% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.5-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Lancaster 24.4 points higher than La Crosse-Onalaska. 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 La Crosse-Onalaska corresponds to $107,070 in Lancaster.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 93.8
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff +6.9 RPP
Services
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 89.5
- Lancaster
- 107.3
Diff +17.7 RPP
Rents
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 69.4
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff +24.4 RPP
| Category | La Crosse-Onalaska | Lancaster | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.8 | 98.3 | +6.5 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 100.7 | +6.9 |
| Services | 89.5 | 107.3 | +17.7 |
| Rents | 69.4 | 93.8 | +24.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
La Crosse-Onalaska 91.8
Lancaster 98.3
Goods
La Crosse-Onalaska 93.8
Lancaster 100.7
Services
La Crosse-Onalaska 89.5
Lancaster 107.3
Rents
La Crosse-Onalaska 69.4
Lancaster 93.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
La Crosse-Onalaska
91.8
Cost Index
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
La Crosse-Onalaska and Lancaster share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 6.8 to 6.5 RPP points. Lancaster remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 8.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (16.0 to 24.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | La Crosse-Onalaska RPP | Lancaster RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.3 | 100.2 | 6.8 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 93.2 | 97.8 | 4.6 points Lancaster higher |
| 2016 | 92.8 | 99.4 | 6.6 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 89.5 | 97.9 | 8.4 points Lancaster higher |
| 2024 | 91.8 | 98.3 | 6.5 points Lancaster 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 Lancaster more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska?
Lancaster is 7.1% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 91.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lancaster equals $100K in La Crosse-Onalaska?
A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska has the same purchasing power as $107,070 in Lancaster. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between La Crosse-Onalaska and Lancaster?
Rents in La Crosse-Onalaska are indexed at 69.4 while Lancaster is at 93.8 (national average = 100). Lancaster 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.