Overall
Diff -0.6 RPP
Medford vs Ann Arbor
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Ann Arbor is 0.5% less expensive than Medford.
0.5% less expensive
Ann Arbor, MI is 0.5% less expensive than Medford, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.9 vs 101.4). A $100,000 salary in Medford buys about the same as $99,455 in Ann Arbor; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 101.4 (Medford) vs 100.9 (Ann Arbor)
- $100k in Medford ≈ $99,455 purchasing power in Ann Arbor
- Rents drives the gap (+27.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OR:MI 101.4→100.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OR × MI
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Medford
101.4
Cost Index
Ann Arbor
100.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Medford, OR and Ann Arbor, MI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Ann Arbor is 27.6 points higher. But 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Medford corresponds to $99,455 in Ann Arbor.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -11.5 RPP
Services
Diff -4.1 RPP
Rents
Diff +27.6 RPP
| Category | Medford | Ann Arbor | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.4 | 100.9 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 93.7 | -11.5 |
| Services | 102.3 | 98.2 | -4.1 |
| Rents | 97.7 | 125.3 | +27.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Medford 101.4
Ann Arbor 100.9
Goods
Medford 105.3
Ann Arbor 93.7
Services
Medford 102.3
Ann Arbor 98.2
Rents
Medford 97.7
Ann Arbor 125.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Medford would need to be in Ann Arbor for the same purchasing power:
| In Medford | In Ann Arbor | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,727 | $-273 |
| $75,000 | $74,591 | $-409 |
| $100,000 | $99,455 | $-545 |
| $150,000 | $149,182 | $-818 |
$ in Medford = in Ann Arbor
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.4 → 100.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ann Arbor more expensive than Medford?
Ann Arbor is 0.5% less expensive than Medford. The overall cost index is 100.9 vs 101.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Ann Arbor equals $100K in Medford?
A $100,000 salary in Medford has the same purchasing power as $99,455 in Ann Arbor. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Medford and Ann Arbor?
Rents in Medford are indexed at 97.7 while Ann Arbor is at 125.3 (national average = 100). Ann Arbor 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.