Overall
- Missoula
- 96.4
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 95.8
Diff -0.6 RPP
Missoula vs Buffalo-Cheektowaga
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Buffalo-Cheektowaga is 0.6% less expensive than Missoula.
0.6% less expensive
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY is 0.6% less expensive than Missoula, MT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.8 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Missoula buys about the same as $99,377 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Missoula) vs 95.8 (Buffalo-Cheektowaga)
- $100k in Missoula ≈ $99,377 purchasing power in Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- Services drives the gap (+57.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MT:NY 96.4→95.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MT × NY
- 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.
Missoula
96.4
Cost Index
Buffalo-Cheektowaga
95.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Missoula, MT and Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Buffalo-Cheektowaga is 57.4 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.
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 Missoula to $99,377 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Missoula
- 96.0
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 99.7
Diff +3.7 RPP
Services
- Missoula
- 72.1
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 129.5
Diff +57.4 RPP
Rents
- Missoula
- 94.9
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga
- 81.0
Diff -14.0 RPP
| Category | Missoula | Buffalo-Cheektowaga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 95.8 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 99.7 | +3.7 |
| Services | 72.1 | 129.5 | +57.4 |
| Rents | 94.9 | 81.0 | -14.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Missoula 96.4
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 95.8
Goods
Missoula 96.0
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 99.7
Services
Missoula 72.1
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 129.5
Rents
Missoula 94.9
Buffalo-Cheektowaga 81.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Missoula would need to be in Buffalo-Cheektowaga for the same purchasing power:
| In Missoula | In Buffalo-Cheektowaga | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,688 | $-312 |
| $75,000 | $74,533 | $-467 |
| $100,000 | $99,377 | $-623 |
| $150,000 | $149,065 | $-935 |
$ in Missoula = in Buffalo-Cheektowaga
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 95.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Buffalo-Cheektowaga more expensive than Missoula?
Buffalo-Cheektowaga is 0.6% less expensive than Missoula. The overall cost index is 95.8 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Buffalo-Cheektowaga equals $100K in Missoula?
A $100,000 salary in Missoula has the same purchasing power as $99,377 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Missoula and Buffalo-Cheektowaga?
Rents in Missoula are indexed at 94.9 while Buffalo-Cheektowaga is at 81.0 (national average = 100). Missoula 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.