Overall
- Lawton
- 85.9
- Grand Forks
- 86.7
Diff +0.7 RPP
Lawton vs Grand Forks
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Grand Forks is 0.8% more expensive than Lawton.
0.8% more expensive
Grand Forks, ND-MN is 0.8% more expensive than Lawton, OK on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.7 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in Lawton buys about the same as $100,840 in Grand Forks; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (Lawton) vs 86.7 (Grand Forks)
- $100k in Lawton ≈ $100,840 purchasing power in Grand Forks
- Services drives the gap (+4.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OK:ND 85.9→86.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OK × ND
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Lawton
85.9
Cost Index
Grand Forks
86.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lawton, OK and Grand Forks, ND-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.
Services leads the difference, with Grand Forks 4.1 points higher than Lawton. 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.
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 Lawton to $100,840 in Grand Forks, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lawton
- 93.8
- Grand Forks
- 95.6
Diff +1.9 RPP
Services
- Lawton
- 73.0
- Grand Forks
- 77.1
Diff +4.1 RPP
Rents
- Lawton
- 57.4
- Grand Forks
- 59.7
Diff +2.3 RPP
| Category | Lawton | Grand Forks | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 86.7 | +0.7 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 95.6 | +1.9 |
| Services | 73.0 | 77.1 | +4.1 |
| Rents | 57.4 | 59.7 | +2.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lawton 85.9
Grand Forks 86.7
Goods
Lawton 93.8
Grand Forks 95.6
Services
Lawton 73.0
Grand Forks 77.1
Rents
Lawton 57.4
Grand Forks 59.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lawton would need to be in Grand Forks for the same purchasing power:
| In Lawton | In Grand Forks | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,420 | +$420 |
| $75,000 | $75,630 | +$630 |
| $100,000 | $100,840 | +$840 |
| $150,000 | $151,260 | +$1,260 |
$ in Lawton = in Grand Forks
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 86.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grand Forks more expensive than Lawton?
Grand Forks is 0.8% more expensive than Lawton. The overall cost index is 86.7 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Grand Forks equals $100K in Lawton?
A $100,000 salary in Lawton has the same purchasing power as $100,840 in Grand Forks. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lawton and Grand Forks?
Rents in Lawton are indexed at 57.4 while Grand Forks is at 59.7 (national average = 100). Grand Forks 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.