Overall
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 94.7
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff +3.8 RPP
Lewiston-Auburn vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn.
4% more expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn, ME on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 94.7). A $100,000 salary in Lewiston-Auburn buys about the same as $103,993 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.7 (Lewiston-Auburn) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Lewiston-Auburn ≈ $103,993 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Services drives the gap (-40.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ME:WA 94.7→98.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE ME × WA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 97.2
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff +7.9 RPP
Services
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 134.4
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff -40.1 RPP
Rents
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 69.0
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff +17.6 RPP
| Category | Lewiston-Auburn | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.7 | 98.5 | +3.8 |
| Goods | 97.2 | 105.0 | +7.9 |
| Services | 134.4 | 94.3 | -40.1 |
| Rents | 69.0 | 86.6 | +17.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lewiston-Auburn 94.7
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Lewiston-Auburn 97.2
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Lewiston-Auburn 134.4
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Lewiston-Auburn 69.0
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Walla Walla is 40.1 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Walla Walla, WA is 4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn, ME, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.8-point overall gap.
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.
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 $103,993 in Walla Walla, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Lewiston-Auburn
94.7
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lewiston-Auburn would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Lewiston-Auburn | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,997 | +$1,997 |
| $75,000 | $77,995 | +$2,995 |
| $100,000 | $103,993 | +$3,993 |
| $150,000 | $155,990 | +$5,990 |
$ in Lewiston-Auburn = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.7 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Lewiston-Auburn and Walla Walla share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 2.1 to 3.8 RPP points. Walla Walla remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 29.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (70.0 to 40.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lewiston-Auburn RPP | Walla Walla RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.7 | 95.6 | 2.1 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2012 | 98.8 | 95.1 | 3.6 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2016 | 96.6 | 96.3 | 0.3 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2020 | 99.7 | 95.2 | 4.5 points Lewiston-Auburn higher |
| 2024 | 94.7 | 98.5 | 3.8 points Walla Walla 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn?
Walla Walla is 4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 94.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Lewiston-Auburn?
A $100,000 salary in Lewiston-Auburn has the same purchasing power as $103,993 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lewiston-Auburn and Walla Walla?
Rents in Lewiston-Auburn are indexed at 69.0 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Walla Walla 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.