Overall
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 94.7
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +3.5 RPP
Lewiston-Auburn vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 3.7% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn.
3.7% more expensive
Merced, CA is 3.7% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn, ME on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 94.7). A $100,000 salary in Lewiston-Auburn buys about the same as $103,736 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.7 (Lewiston-Auburn) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Lewiston-Auburn ≈ $103,736 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+24.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ME:CA 94.7→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE ME × 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 3.7% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn, ME, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.5-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 24.0 points higher than Lewiston-Auburn. 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 Lewiston-Auburn to $103,736 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Lewiston-Auburn and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 3.5 to 3.5 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 58.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (35.0 to 24.0 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lewiston-Auburn RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.7 | 94.3 | 3.5 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2012 | 98.8 | 98.6 | 0.2 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2016 | 96.6 | 95.3 | 1.3 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2020 | 99.7 | 98.7 | 0.9 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2024 | 94.7 | 98.3 | 3.5 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
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 97.2
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +8.0 RPP
Services
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 134.4
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +24.0 RPP
Rents
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 69.0
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +9.6 RPP
| Category | Lewiston-Auburn | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.7 | 98.3 | +3.5 |
| Goods | 97.2 | 105.2 | +8.0 |
| Services | 134.4 | 158.3 | +24.0 |
| Rents | 69.0 | 78.6 | +9.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lewiston-Auburn 94.7
Merced 98.3
Goods
Lewiston-Auburn 97.2
Merced 105.2
Services
Lewiston-Auburn 134.4
Merced 158.3
Rents
Lewiston-Auburn 69.0
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lewiston-Auburn would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Lewiston-Auburn | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,868 | +$1,868 |
| $75,000 | $77,802 | +$2,802 |
| $100,000 | $103,736 | +$3,736 |
| $150,000 | $155,603 | +$5,603 |
$ in Lewiston-Auburn = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.7 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Lewiston-Auburn
94.7
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn?
Merced is 3.7% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 94.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Lewiston-Auburn?
A $100,000 salary in Lewiston-Auburn has the same purchasing power as $103,736 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lewiston-Auburn and Merced?
Rents in Lewiston-Auburn are indexed at 69.0 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.