Overall
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 91.8
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +6.5 RPP
La Crosse-Onalaska vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 7.1% more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska.
7.1% more expensive
Merced, CA 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 $107,090 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.8 (La Crosse-Onalaska) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in La Crosse-Onalaska ≈ $107,090 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+68.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WI:CA 91.8→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WI × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-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.
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.
Merced, CA 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.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 68.8 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in La Crosse-Onalaska to $107,090 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
La Crosse-Onalaska and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.9 to 6.5 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 63.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (5.6 to 68.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | La Crosse-Onalaska RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.3 | 94.3 | 0.9 points Merced higher |
| 2012 | 93.2 | 98.6 | 5.4 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 92.8 | 95.3 | 2.6 points Merced higher |
| 2020 | 89.5 | 98.7 | 9.2 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 91.8 | 98.3 | 6.5 points Merced 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 93.8
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +11.4 RPP
Services
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 89.5
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +68.8 RPP
Rents
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 69.4
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +9.2 RPP
| Category | La Crosse-Onalaska | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.8 | 98.3 | +6.5 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 105.2 | +11.4 |
| Services | 89.5 | 158.3 | +68.8 |
| Rents | 69.4 | 78.6 | +9.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
La Crosse-Onalaska 91.8
Merced 98.3
Goods
La Crosse-Onalaska 93.8
Merced 105.2
Services
La Crosse-Onalaska 89.5
Merced 158.3
Rents
La Crosse-Onalaska 69.4
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in La Crosse-Onalaska would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In La Crosse-Onalaska | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,545 | +$3,545 |
| $75,000 | $80,317 | +$5,317 |
| $100,000 | $107,090 | +$7,090 |
| $150,000 | $160,634 | +$10,634 |
$ in La Crosse-Onalaska = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.8 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
La Crosse-Onalaska
91.8
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than La Crosse-Onalaska?
Merced 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 Merced equals $100K in La Crosse-Onalaska?
A $100,000 salary in La Crosse-Onalaska has the same purchasing power as $107,090 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between La Crosse-Onalaska and Merced?
Rents in La Crosse-Onalaska are indexed at 69.4 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Merced 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.