Overall
- Lewiston
- 91.2
Diff -0.5 RPP
Michigan City-La Porte vs Lewiston
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lewiston is 0.6% less expensive than Michigan City-La Porte.
0.6% less expensive
Lewiston, ID-WA is 0.6% less expensive than Michigan City-La Porte, IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.2 vs 91.7). A $100,000 salary in Michigan City-La Porte buys about the same as $99,431 in Lewiston; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.7 (Michigan City-La Porte) vs 91.2 (Lewiston)
- $100k in Michigan City-La Porte ≈ $99,431 purchasing power in Lewiston
- Services drives the gap (-13.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IN:ID 91.7→91.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IN × ID
- 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.
Michigan City-La Porte
91.7
Cost Index
Lewiston
91.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Michigan City-La Porte, IN and Lewiston, ID-WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Lewiston is 13.8 points lower. But rents and 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 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 Michigan City-La Porte to $99,431 in Lewiston, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lewiston
- 96.2
Diff +1.9 RPP
Services
- Lewiston
- 72.6
Diff -13.8 RPP
Rents
- Lewiston
- 71.9
Diff +3.5 RPP
| Category | Michigan City-La Porte | Lewiston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.7 | 91.2 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 96.2 | +1.9 |
| Services | 86.4 | 72.6 | -13.8 |
| Rents | 68.5 | 71.9 | +3.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Michigan City-La Porte 91.7
Lewiston 91.2
Goods
Michigan City-La Porte 94.3
Lewiston 96.2
Services
Michigan City-La Porte 86.4
Lewiston 72.6
Rents
Michigan City-La Porte 68.5
Lewiston 71.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Michigan City-La Porte would need to be in Lewiston for the same purchasing power:
| In Michigan City-La Porte | In Lewiston | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,715 | $-285 |
| $75,000 | $74,573 | $-427 |
| $100,000 | $99,431 | $-569 |
| $150,000 | $149,146 | $-854 |
$ in Michigan City-La Porte = in Lewiston
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.7 → 91.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lewiston more expensive than Michigan City-La Porte?
Lewiston is 0.6% less expensive than Michigan City-La Porte. The overall cost index is 91.2 vs 91.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lewiston equals $100K in Michigan City-La Porte?
A $100,000 salary in Michigan City-La Porte has the same purchasing power as $99,431 in Lewiston. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Michigan City-La Porte and Lewiston?
Rents in Michigan City-La Porte are indexed at 68.5 while Lewiston is at 71.9 (national average = 100). Lewiston 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.