Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
- Portland-South Portland
- 101.9
Diff +3.6 RPP
Merced vs Portland-South Portland
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Portland-South Portland is 3.6% more expensive than Merced.
3.6% more expensive
Portland-South Portland, ME is 3.6% more expensive than Merced, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 101.9 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Merced buys about the same as $103,646 in Portland-South Portland; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Merced) vs 101.9 (Portland-South Portland)
- $100k in Merced ≈ $103,646 purchasing power in Portland-South Portland
- Rents drives the gap (+26.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:ME 98.3→101.9
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CA × ME
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff -8.0 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
- Portland-South Portland
- 134.6
Diff -23.7 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
- Portland-South Portland
- 105.2
Diff +26.5 RPP
| Category | Merced | Portland-South Portland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 101.9 | +3.6 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 97.2 | -8.0 |
| Services | 158.3 | 134.6 | -23.7 |
| Rents | 78.6 | 105.2 | +26.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Merced 98.3
Portland-South Portland 101.9
Goods
Merced 105.2
Portland-South Portland 97.2
Services
Merced 158.3
Portland-South Portland 134.6
Rents
Merced 78.6
Portland-South Portland 105.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Portland-South Portland is 26.5 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.
Portland-South Portland, ME is 3.6% more expensive than Merced, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.6-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Portland-South Portland is above 100 while Merced is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
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 Merced corresponds to $103,646 in Portland-South Portland.
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Portland-South Portland
101.9
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Merced would need to be in Portland-South Portland for the same purchasing power:
| In Merced | In Portland-South Portland | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,823 | +$1,823 |
| $75,000 | $77,734 | +$2,734 |
| $100,000 | $103,646 | +$3,646 |
| $150,000 | $155,469 | +$5,469 |
$ in Merced = in Portland-South Portland
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 101.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Portland-South Portland more expensive than Merced?
Portland-South Portland is 3.6% more expensive than Merced. The overall cost index is 101.9 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Portland-South Portland equals $100K in Merced?
A $100,000 salary in Merced has the same purchasing power as $103,646 in Portland-South Portland. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Merced and Portland-South Portland?
Rents in Merced are indexed at 78.6 while Portland-South Portland is at 105.2 (national average = 100). Portland-South Portland 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.