Overall
- Missoula
- 96.4
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff -0.0 RPP
Missoula vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 0% less expensive than Missoula.
0% less expensive
Wilmington, NC is 0% less expensive than Missoula, MT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 96.4). A $100,000 salary in Missoula buys about the same as $99,976 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 96.4 (Missoula) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Missoula ≈ $99,976 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Services drives the gap (+15.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MT:NC 96.4→96.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MT × NC
- 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
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Missoula, MT and Wilmington, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Wilmington is 15.8 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 $99,976 in Wilmington, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Missoula
- 96.0
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
- Missoula
- 72.1
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff +15.8 RPP
Rents
- Missoula
- 94.9
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff -1.7 RPP
| Category | Missoula | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 96.4 | 96.4 | -0.0 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 96.6 | +0.6 |
| Services | 72.1 | 87.9 | +15.8 |
| Rents | 94.9 | 93.2 | -1.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Missoula 96.4
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Missoula 96.0
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Missoula 72.1
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Missoula 94.9
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Missoula would need to be in Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Missoula | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,988 | $-12 |
| $75,000 | $74,982 | $-18 |
| $100,000 | $99,976 | $-24 |
| $150,000 | $149,964 | $-36 |
$ in Missoula = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (96.4 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington more expensive than Missoula?
Wilmington is 0% less expensive than Missoula. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 96.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Missoula?
A $100,000 salary in Missoula has the same purchasing power as $99,976 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Missoula and Wilmington?
Rents in Missoula are indexed at 94.9 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (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.