Overall
- Missoula
- 96.4
Diff -0.1 RPP
Missoula vs Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin is 0.1% less expensive than Missoula.
0.1% less expensive
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN is 0.1% less expensive than Missoula, MT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.3 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Missoula buys about the same as $99,889 in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Missoula) vs 96.3 (Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin)
- $100k in Missoula ≈ $99,889 purchasing power in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin
- Rents drives the gap (+9.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MT:TN 96.4→96.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MT × TN
- 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
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin
96.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Missoula, MT and Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin is 9.7 points higher. 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 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 Missoula corresponds to $99,889 in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Missoula
- 96.0
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Missoula
- 72.1
Diff -0.1 RPP
Rents
- Missoula
- 94.9
Diff +9.7 RPP
| Category | Missoula | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 96.3 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 96.2 | +0.2 |
| Services | 72.1 | 72.0 | -0.1 |
| Rents | 94.9 | 104.6 | +9.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Missoula 96.4
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin 96.3
Goods
Missoula 96.0
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin 96.2
Services
Missoula 72.1
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin 72.0
Rents
Missoula 94.9
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin 104.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Missoula would need to be in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin for the same purchasing power:
| In Missoula | In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,945 | $-55 |
| $75,000 | $74,917 | $-83 |
| $100,000 | $99,889 | $-111 |
| $150,000 | $149,834 | $-166 |
$ in Missoula = in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 96.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Reverse: Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin → Missoula Missoula Details
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin Details
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin more expensive than Missoula?
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin is 0.1% less expensive than Missoula. The overall cost index is 96.3 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin equals $100K in Missoula?
A $100,000 salary in Missoula has the same purchasing power as $99,889 in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Missoula and Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin?
Rents in Missoula are indexed at 94.9 while Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin is at 104.6 (national average = 100). Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin 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.