Overall
- Great Falls
- 96.8
Diff -0.3 RPP
Lakeland-Winter Haven vs Great Falls
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Great Falls is 0.3% less expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven.
0.3% less expensive
Great Falls, MT is 0.3% less expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.8 vs 97.1). A $100,000 salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven buys about the same as $99,695 in Great Falls; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 97.1 (Lakeland-Winter Haven) vs 96.8 (Great Falls)
- $100k in Lakeland-Winter Haven ≈ $99,695 purchasing power in Great Falls
- Services drives the gap (-13.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:MT 97.1→96.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE FL × MT
- 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.
Lakeland-Winter Haven
97.1
Cost Index
Great Falls
96.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL and Great Falls, MT 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Great Falls is 13.8 points lower. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Lakeland-Winter Haven to $99,695 in Great Falls, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Great Falls
- 96.0
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
- Great Falls
- 73.0
Diff -13.8 RPP
Rents
- Great Falls
- 97.1
Diff +1.2 RPP
| Category | Lakeland-Winter Haven | Great Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.1 | 96.8 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.0 | -0.2 |
| Services | 86.9 | 73.0 | -13.8 |
| Rents | 95.9 | 97.1 | +1.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lakeland-Winter Haven 97.1
Great Falls 96.8
Goods
Lakeland-Winter Haven 96.2
Great Falls 96.0
Services
Lakeland-Winter Haven 86.9
Great Falls 73.0
Rents
Lakeland-Winter Haven 95.9
Great Falls 97.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven would need to be in Great Falls for the same purchasing power:
| In Lakeland-Winter Haven | In Great Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,848 | $-152 |
| $75,000 | $74,771 | $-229 |
| $100,000 | $99,695 | $-305 |
| $150,000 | $149,543 | $-457 |
$ in Lakeland-Winter Haven = in Great Falls
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.1 → 96.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Great Falls more expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven?
Great Falls is 0.3% less expensive than Lakeland-Winter Haven. The overall cost index is 96.8 vs 97.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Great Falls equals $100K in Lakeland-Winter Haven?
A $100,000 salary in Lakeland-Winter Haven has the same purchasing power as $99,695 in Great Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lakeland-Winter Haven and Great Falls?
Rents in Lakeland-Winter Haven are indexed at 95.9 while Great Falls is at 97.1 (national average = 100). Great Falls 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.