Overall
- Longview-Kelso
- 97.5
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 98.2
Diff +0.7 RPP
Longview-Kelso vs Provo-Orem-Lehi
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Provo-Orem-Lehi is 0.7% more expensive than Longview-Kelso.
0.7% more expensive
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT is 0.7% more expensive than Longview-Kelso, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.2 vs 97.5). A $100,000 salary in Longview-Kelso buys about the same as $100,704 in Provo-Orem-Lehi; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 97.5 (Longview-Kelso) vs 98.2 (Provo-Orem-Lehi)
- $100k in Longview-Kelso ≈ $100,704 purchasing power in Provo-Orem-Lehi
- Rents drives the gap (+21.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:UT 97.5→98.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WA × UT
- 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.
Longview-Kelso
97.5
Cost Index
Provo-Orem-Lehi
98.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Longview-Kelso, WA and Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Provo-Orem-Lehi is 21.5 points higher. But services and goods 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Longview-Kelso corresponds to $100,704 in Provo-Orem-Lehi.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Longview-Kelso
- 105.0
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 96.4
Diff -8.6 RPP
Services
- Longview-Kelso
- 98.5
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 78.6
Diff -19.8 RPP
Rents
- Longview-Kelso
- 82.5
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 104.1
Diff +21.5 RPP
| Category | Longview-Kelso | Provo-Orem-Lehi | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 97.5 | 98.2 | +0.7 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 96.4 | -8.6 |
| Services | 98.5 | 78.6 | -19.8 |
| Rents | 82.5 | 104.1 | +21.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Longview-Kelso 97.5
Provo-Orem-Lehi 98.2
Goods
Longview-Kelso 105.0
Provo-Orem-Lehi 96.4
Services
Longview-Kelso 98.5
Provo-Orem-Lehi 78.6
Rents
Longview-Kelso 82.5
Provo-Orem-Lehi 104.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Longview-Kelso and Provo-Orem-Lehi share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.0 to 0.7 RPP points. Provo-Orem-Lehi remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 26.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.3 to 19.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Longview-Kelso RPP | Provo-Orem-Lehi RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.1 | 97.1 | 1.0 points Longview-Kelso higher |
| 2012 | 92.5 | 100.4 | 7.9 points Provo-Orem-Lehi higher |
| 2016 | 96.8 | 97.0 | 0.2 points Provo-Orem-Lehi higher |
| 2020 | 100.0 | 94.8 | 5.2 points Longview-Kelso higher |
| 2024 | 97.5 | 98.2 | 0.7 points Provo-Orem-Lehi 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Longview-Kelso would need to be in Provo-Orem-Lehi for the same purchasing power:
| In Longview-Kelso | In Provo-Orem-Lehi | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,352 | +$352 |
| $75,000 | $75,528 | +$528 |
| $100,000 | $100,704 | +$704 |
| $150,000 | $151,056 | +$1,056 |
$ in Longview-Kelso = in Provo-Orem-Lehi
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (97.5 → 98.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Provo-Orem-Lehi more expensive than Longview-Kelso?
Provo-Orem-Lehi is 0.7% more expensive than Longview-Kelso. The overall cost index is 98.2 vs 97.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi equals $100K in Longview-Kelso?
A $100,000 salary in Longview-Kelso has the same purchasing power as $100,704 in Provo-Orem-Lehi. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Longview-Kelso and Provo-Orem-Lehi?
Rents in Longview-Kelso are indexed at 82.5 while Provo-Orem-Lehi is at 104.1 (national average = 100). Provo-Orem-Lehi 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.