Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 96.9
Diff -1.3 RPP
Merced vs Milwaukee-Waukesha
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Milwaukee-Waukesha is 1.4% less expensive than Merced.
1.4% less expensive
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is 1.4% less expensive than Merced, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.9 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Merced buys about the same as $98,639 in Milwaukee-Waukesha; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Merced) vs 96.9 (Milwaukee-Waukesha)
- $100k in Merced ≈ $98,639 purchasing power in Milwaukee-Waukesha
- Services drives the gap (-66.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:WI 98.3→96.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CA × WI
- 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.
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Milwaukee-Waukesha
96.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Merced, CA and Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Milwaukee-Waukesha is 66.7 points lower. 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 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 Merced to $98,639 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 93.8
Diff -11.4 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 91.6
Diff -66.7 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
- Milwaukee-Waukesha
- 97.1
Diff +18.5 RPP
| Category | Merced | Milwaukee-Waukesha | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 96.9 | -1.3 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 93.8 | -11.4 |
| Services | 158.3 | 91.6 | -66.7 |
| Rents | 78.6 | 97.1 | +18.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Merced 98.3
Milwaukee-Waukesha 96.9
Goods
Merced 105.2
Milwaukee-Waukesha 93.8
Services
Merced 158.3
Milwaukee-Waukesha 91.6
Rents
Merced 78.6
Milwaukee-Waukesha 97.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Merced and Milwaukee-Waukesha share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.5 to 1.3 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 71.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (4.2 to 66.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Merced RPP | Milwaukee-Waukesha RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 94.3 | 97.7 | 3.5 points Milwaukee-Waukesha higher |
| 2012 | 98.6 | 97.6 | 1.0 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 95.3 | 99.1 | 3.8 points Milwaukee-Waukesha higher |
| 2020 | 98.7 | 95.7 | 3.0 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 98.3 | 96.9 | 1.3 points Merced 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 Merced would need to be in Milwaukee-Waukesha for the same purchasing power:
| In Merced | In Milwaukee-Waukesha | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,319 | $-681 |
| $75,000 | $73,979 | $-1,021 |
| $100,000 | $98,639 | $-1,361 |
| $150,000 | $147,958 | $-2,042 |
$ in Merced = in Milwaukee-Waukesha
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 96.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Milwaukee-Waukesha more expensive than Merced?
Milwaukee-Waukesha is 1.4% less expensive than Merced. The overall cost index is 96.9 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Milwaukee-Waukesha equals $100K in Merced?
A $100,000 salary in Merced has the same purchasing power as $98,639 in Milwaukee-Waukesha. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Merced and Milwaukee-Waukesha?
Rents in Merced are indexed at 78.6 while Milwaukee-Waukesha is at 97.1 (national average = 100). Milwaukee-Waukesha 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.