Overall
Diff -0.3 RPP
Lewiston vs Rochester
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Rochester is 0.4% less expensive than Lewiston.
0.4% less expensive
Rochester, MN is 0.4% less expensive than Lewiston, ID-WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.8 vs 91.2). A $100,000 salary in Lewiston buys about the same as $99,628 in Rochester; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.2 (Lewiston) vs 90.8 (Rochester)
- $100k in Lewiston ≈ $99,628 purchasing power in Rochester
- Services drives the gap (+14.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:MN 91.2→90.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ID × 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.
Lewiston
91.2
Cost Index
Rochester
90.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lewiston, ID-WA and Rochester, MN 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: Rochester is 14.8 points higher. But services and 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 Lewiston to $99,628 in Rochester, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -0.8 RPP
Services
Diff +14.8 RPP
Rents
Diff +6.7 RPP
| Category | Lewiston | Rochester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.2 | 90.8 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 95.4 | -0.8 |
| Services | 72.6 | 87.4 | +14.8 |
| Rents | 71.9 | 78.6 | +6.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lewiston 91.2
Rochester 90.8
Goods
Lewiston 96.2
Rochester 95.4
Services
Lewiston 72.6
Rochester 87.4
Rents
Lewiston 71.9
Rochester 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lewiston would need to be in Rochester for the same purchasing power:
| In Lewiston | In Rochester | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,814 | $-186 |
| $75,000 | $74,721 | $-279 |
| $100,000 | $99,628 | $-372 |
| $150,000 | $149,442 | $-558 |
$ in Lewiston = in Rochester
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.2 → 90.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rochester more expensive than Lewiston?
Rochester is 0.4% less expensive than Lewiston. The overall cost index is 90.8 vs 91.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Rochester equals $100K in Lewiston?
A $100,000 salary in Lewiston has the same purchasing power as $99,628 in Rochester. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lewiston and Rochester?
Rents in Lewiston are indexed at 71.9 while Rochester is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Rochester 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.