Overall
- Medford
- 101.4
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff -2.9 RPP
Medford vs Walla Walla
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Walla Walla is 2.9% less expensive than Medford.
2.9% less expensive
Walla Walla, WA is 2.9% less expensive than Medford, OR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.5 vs 101.4). A $100,000 salary in Medford buys about the same as $97,127 in Walla Walla; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 101.4 (Medford) vs 98.5 (Walla Walla)
- $100k in Medford ≈ $97,127 purchasing power in Walla Walla
- Rents drives the gap (-11.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OR:WA 101.4→98.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE OR × WA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Medford would need to be in Walla Walla for the same purchasing power:
| In Medford | In Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,564 | $-1,436 |
| $75,000 | $72,845 | $-2,155 |
| $100,000 | $97,127 | $-2,873 |
| $150,000 | $145,691 | $-4,309 |
$ in Medford = in Walla Walla
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.4 → 98.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Walla Walla, WA is 2.9% less expensive than Medford, OR, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.9-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Medford is above 100 while Walla Walla is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Walla Walla 11.1 points lower than Medford. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 $97,127 in Walla Walla.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Medford
- 105.3
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
- Medford
- 102.3
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff -8.0 RPP
Rents
- Medford
- 97.7
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff -11.1 RPP
| Category | Medford | Walla Walla | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.4 | 98.5 | -2.9 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 105.0 | -0.2 |
| Services | 102.3 | 94.3 | -8.0 |
| Rents | 97.7 | 86.6 | -11.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Medford 101.4
Walla Walla 98.5
Goods
Medford 105.3
Walla Walla 105.0
Services
Medford 102.3
Walla Walla 94.3
Rents
Medford 97.7
Walla Walla 86.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Medford
101.4
Cost Index
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walla Walla more expensive than Medford?
Walla Walla is 2.9% less expensive than Medford. The overall cost index is 98.5 vs 101.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Walla Walla equals $100K in Medford?
A $100,000 salary in Medford has the same purchasing power as $97,127 in Walla Walla. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Medford and Walla Walla?
Rents in Medford are indexed at 97.7 while Walla Walla is at 86.6 (national average = 100). Medford 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.