Overall
- Medford
- 101.4
- Providence-Warwick
- 101.8
Diff +0.3 RPP
Medford vs Providence-Warwick
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Providence-Warwick is 0.3% more expensive than Medford.
0.3% more expensive
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA is 0.3% more expensive than Medford, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.8 vs 101.4). A $100,000 salary in Medford buys about the same as $100,335 in Providence-Warwick; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 101.4 (Medford) vs 101.8 (Providence-Warwick)
- $100k in Medford ≈ $100,335 purchasing power in Providence-Warwick
- Services drives the gap (+46.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OR:RI 101.4→101.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OR × RI
- 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
Providence-Warwick
101.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Medford, OR and Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 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: Providence-Warwick is 46.5 points higher. But 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 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Medford to $100,335 in Providence-Warwick, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Medford
- 105.3
- Providence-Warwick
- 97.1
Diff -8.1 RPP
Services
- Medford
- 102.3
- Providence-Warwick
- 148.8
Diff +46.5 RPP
Rents
- Medford
- 97.7
- Providence-Warwick
- 103.9
Diff +6.2 RPP
| Category | Medford | Providence-Warwick | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.4 | 101.8 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 97.1 | -8.1 |
| Services | 102.3 | 148.8 | +46.5 |
| Rents | 97.7 | 103.9 | +6.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Medford 101.4
Providence-Warwick 101.8
Goods
Medford 105.3
Providence-Warwick 97.1
Services
Medford 102.3
Providence-Warwick 148.8
Rents
Medford 97.7
Providence-Warwick 103.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Medford and Providence-Warwick share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 6.2 to 0.3 RPP points. Providence-Warwick remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 13.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (60.4 to 46.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Medford RPP | Providence-Warwick RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.5 | 103.7 | 6.2 points Providence-Warwick higher |
| 2012 | 100.9 | 100.3 | 0.5 points Medford higher |
| 2016 | 98.1 | 101.9 | 3.9 points Providence-Warwick higher |
| 2020 | 101.9 | 101.7 | 0.2 points Medford higher |
| 2024 | 101.4 | 101.8 | 0.3 points Providence-Warwick 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 Medford would need to be in Providence-Warwick for the same purchasing power:
| In Medford | In Providence-Warwick | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,168 | +$168 |
| $75,000 | $75,251 | +$251 |
| $100,000 | $100,335 | +$335 |
| $150,000 | $150,503 | +$503 |
$ in Medford = in Providence-Warwick
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.4 → 101.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Providence-Warwick more expensive than Medford?
Providence-Warwick is 0.3% more expensive than Medford. The overall cost index is 101.8 vs 101.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Providence-Warwick equals $100K in Medford?
A $100,000 salary in Medford has the same purchasing power as $100,335 in Providence-Warwick. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Medford and Providence-Warwick?
Rents in Medford are indexed at 97.7 while Providence-Warwick is at 103.9 (national average = 100). Providence-Warwick 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.