Overall
Diff -0.3 RPP
Lewiston vs Saginaw
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Saginaw is 0.3% less expensive than Lewiston.
0.3% less expensive
Saginaw, MI is 0.3% less expensive than Lewiston, ID-WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.9 vs 91.2). A $100,000 salary in Lewiston buys about the same as $99,705 in Saginaw; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.2 (Lewiston) vs 90.9 (Saginaw)
- $100k in Lewiston ≈ $99,705 purchasing power in Saginaw
- Services drives the gap (+23.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:MI 91.2→90.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ID × MI
- 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
Saginaw
90.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lewiston, ID-WA and Saginaw, MI 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: Saginaw is 23.3 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 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 $99,705 in Saginaw, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
Diff +23.3 RPP
Rents
Diff -8.3 RPP
| Category | Lewiston | Saginaw | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.2 | 90.9 | -0.3 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.7 | -2.5 |
| Services | 72.6 | 95.8 | +23.3 |
| Rents | 71.9 | 63.6 | -8.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lewiston 91.2
Saginaw 90.9
Goods
Lewiston 96.2
Saginaw 93.7
Services
Lewiston 72.6
Saginaw 95.8
Rents
Lewiston 71.9
Saginaw 63.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lewiston would need to be in Saginaw for the same purchasing power:
| In Lewiston | In Saginaw | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,852 | $-148 |
| $75,000 | $74,779 | $-221 |
| $100,000 | $99,705 | $-295 |
| $150,000 | $149,557 | $-443 |
$ in Lewiston = in Saginaw
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.2 → 90.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Saginaw more expensive than Lewiston?
Saginaw is 0.3% less expensive than Lewiston. The overall cost index is 90.9 vs 91.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Saginaw equals $100K in Lewiston?
A $100,000 salary in Lewiston has the same purchasing power as $99,705 in Saginaw. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lewiston and Saginaw?
Rents in Lewiston are indexed at 71.9 while Saginaw is at 63.6 (national average = 100). Lewiston 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.