Overall
- Minot
- 87.0
- Coeur d'Alene
- 98.3
Diff +11.3 RPP
Minot vs Coeur d'Alene
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Coeur d'Alene is 12.9% more expensive than Minot.
12.9% more expensive
Coeur d'Alene, ID is 12.9% more expensive than Minot, ND on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 87.0). A $100,000 salary in Minot buys about the same as $112,944 in Coeur d'Alene; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.0 (Minot) vs 98.3 (Coeur d'Alene)
- $100k in Minot ≈ $112,944 purchasing power in Coeur d'Alene
- Rents drives the gap (+42.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ND:ID 87.0→98.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE ND × ID
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- 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
- Minot
- 95.7
- Coeur d'Alene
- 96.2
Diff +0.5 RPP
Services
- Minot
- 72.9
- Coeur d'Alene
- 70.8
Diff -2.1 RPP
Rents
- Minot
- 63.2
- Coeur d'Alene
- 105.6
Diff +42.4 RPP
| Category | Minot | Coeur d'Alene | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.0 | 98.3 | +11.3 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 96.2 | +0.5 |
| Services | 72.9 | 70.8 | -2.1 |
| Rents | 63.2 | 105.6 | +42.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Minot 87.0
Coeur d'Alene 98.3
Goods
Minot 95.7
Coeur d'Alene 96.2
Services
Minot 72.9
Coeur d'Alene 70.8
Rents
Minot 63.2
Coeur d'Alene 105.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Coeur d'Alene is 42.4 points higher. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Minot, ND and Coeur d'Alene, ID sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 11.3 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
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.
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 Minot corresponds to $112,944 in Coeur d'Alene.
Minot
87.0
Cost Index
Coeur d'Alene
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Minot would need to be in Coeur d'Alene for the same purchasing power:
| In Minot | In Coeur d'Alene | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $56,472 | +$6,472 |
| $75,000 | $84,708 | +$9,708 |
| $100,000 | $112,944 | +$12,944 |
| $150,000 | $169,416 | +$19,416 |
$ in Minot = in Coeur d'Alene
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.0 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Minot and Coeur d'Alene share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 19.0 to 11.3 RPP points. Coeur d'Alene remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 26.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (27.0 to 0.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Minot RPP | Coeur d'Alene RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 79.2 | 98.1 | 19.0 points Coeur d'Alene higher |
| 2012 | 90.9 | 94.9 | 3.9 points Coeur d'Alene higher |
| 2016 | 89.6 | 97.5 | 7.9 points Coeur d'Alene higher |
| 2020 | 92.5 | 93.0 | 0.5 points Coeur d'Alene higher |
| 2024 | 87.0 | 98.3 | 11.3 points Coeur d'Alene 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Coeur d'Alene more expensive than Minot?
Coeur d'Alene is 12.9% more expensive than Minot. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 87.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Coeur d'Alene equals $100K in Minot?
A $100,000 salary in Minot has the same purchasing power as $112,944 in Coeur d'Alene. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Minot and Coeur d'Alene?
Rents in Minot are indexed at 63.2 while Coeur d'Alene is at 105.6 (national average = 100). Coeur d'Alene 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.