Overall
- Missoula
- 96.4
Diff -0.5 RPP
Missoula vs Racine-Mount Pleasant
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Racine-Mount Pleasant is 0.5% less expensive than Missoula.
0.5% less expensive
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI is 0.5% less expensive than Missoula, MT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.0 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Missoula buys about the same as $99,498 in Racine-Mount Pleasant; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Missoula) vs 96.0 (Racine-Mount Pleasant)
- $100k in Missoula ≈ $99,498 purchasing power in Racine-Mount Pleasant
- Services drives the gap (+17.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MT:WI 96.4→96.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MT × WI
- 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
Racine-Mount Pleasant
96.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Missoula, MT and Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI 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: Racine-Mount Pleasant is 17.9 points higher. But services 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 $99,498 in Racine-Mount Pleasant, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Missoula
- 96.0
Diff -2.2 RPP
Services
- Missoula
- 72.1
Diff +17.9 RPP
Rents
- Missoula
- 94.9
Diff -2.9 RPP
| Category | Missoula | Racine-Mount Pleasant | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 96.0 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 93.8 | -2.2 |
| Services | 72.1 | 90.0 | +17.9 |
| Rents | 94.9 | 92.0 | -2.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Missoula 96.4
Racine-Mount Pleasant 96.0
Goods
Missoula 96.0
Racine-Mount Pleasant 93.8
Services
Missoula 72.1
Racine-Mount Pleasant 90.0
Rents
Missoula 94.9
Racine-Mount Pleasant 92.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Missoula would need to be in Racine-Mount Pleasant for the same purchasing power:
| In Missoula | In Racine-Mount Pleasant | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,749 | $-251 |
| $75,000 | $74,624 | $-376 |
| $100,000 | $99,498 | $-502 |
| $150,000 | $149,247 | $-753 |
$ in Missoula = in Racine-Mount Pleasant
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 96.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Racine-Mount Pleasant more expensive than Missoula?
Racine-Mount Pleasant is 0.5% less expensive than Missoula. The overall cost index is 96.0 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Racine-Mount Pleasant equals $100K in Missoula?
A $100,000 salary in Missoula has the same purchasing power as $99,498 in Racine-Mount Pleasant. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Missoula and Racine-Mount Pleasant?
Rents in Missoula are indexed at 94.9 while Racine-Mount Pleasant is at 92.0 (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.