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Lawrence vs Mankato

Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Mankato is 0.8% more expensive than Lawrence.

0.8% more expensive

Mankato, MN is 0.8% more expensive than Lawrence, KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.0 vs 90.2). A $100,000 salary in Lawrence buys about the same as $100,789 in Mankato; the largest component gap is rents.

  • Overall RPP 90.2 (Lawrence) vs 91.0 (Mankato)
  • $100k in Lawrence ≈ $100,789 purchasing power in Mankato
  • Rents drives the gap (+8.2 RPP points)

RPP parity plate

Pair KS:MN 90.2→91.0

PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR

  • PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
  • CROSS-STATE KS × MN
  • 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.

Lawrence
90.2
Cost Index
Mankato
91.0
Cost Index

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

Lawrence, KS and Mankato, MN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.

Rents creates the largest separation: Mankato is 8.2 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 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 Lawrence corresponds to $100,789 in Mankato.

Category Breakdown

Visual Comparison

Overall
Lawrence
90.2
Mankato
91.0
Goods
Lawrence
94.0
Mankato
95.4
Services
Lawrence
89.3
Mankato
87.0
Rents
Lawrence
71.6
Mankato
79.9

Vertical line = national average (100)

Salary Equivalents

What a salary in Lawrence would need to be in Mankato for the same purchasing power:

In Lawrence In Mankato Difference
$50,000 $50,394 +$394
$75,000 $75,592 +$592
$100,000 $100,789 +$789
$150,000 $151,183 +$1,183
$ in Lawrence = – in Mankato

Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.2 → 91.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Reverse: Mankato → Lawrence Lawrence Details Mankato Details

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mankato more expensive than Lawrence?

Mankato is 0.8% more expensive than Lawrence. The overall cost index is 91.0 vs 90.2 (national average = 100).

What salary in Mankato equals $100K in Lawrence?

A $100,000 salary in Lawrence has the same purchasing power as $100,789 in Mankato. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.

How do rents compare between Lawrence and Mankato?

Rents in Lawrence are indexed at 71.6 while Mankato is at 79.9 (national average = 100). Mankato has higher rents.

Data sources

Data sourced from official public datasets, Regional Price Parities (2024), index where national average = 100. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCost. See our methodology for details.

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.