Overall
- Modesto
- 104.1
Diff +2.3 RPP
Modesto vs Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is 2.2% more expensive than Modesto.
2.2% more expensive
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA is 2.2% more expensive than Modesto, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 106.4 vs 104.1). A $100,000 salary in Modesto buys about the same as $102,242 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 104.1 (Modesto) vs 106.4 (Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario)
- $100k in Modesto ≈ $102,242 purchasing power in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
- Rents drives the gap (+20.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:CA 104.1→106.4
TIER-NEAR · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- SAME-STATE Same state · CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Modesto
- 105.2
Diff -3.7 RPP
Services
- Modesto
- 152.3
Diff -3.6 RPP
Rents
- Modesto
- 108.5
Diff +20.8 RPP
| Category | Modesto | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 104.1 | 106.4 | +2.3 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 101.4 | -3.7 |
| Services | 152.3 | 148.6 | -3.6 |
| Rents | 108.5 | 129.3 | +20.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Modesto 104.1
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 106.4
Goods
Modesto 105.2
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 101.4
Services
Modesto 152.3
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 148.6
Rents
Modesto 108.5
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 129.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is 20.8 points higher. But goods and services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA is 2.2% more expensive than Modesto, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.3-point overall gap.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Modesto corresponds to $102,242 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario.
Modesto
104.1
Cost Index
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
106.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Modesto would need to be in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario for the same purchasing power:
| In Modesto | In Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $51,121 | +$1,121 |
| $75,000 | $76,681 | +$1,681 |
| $100,000 | $102,242 | +$2,242 |
| $150,000 | $153,363 | +$3,363 |
$ in Modesto = in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (104.1 → 106.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Modesto and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 7.6 to 2.3 RPP points. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 18.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (14.8 to 3.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Modesto RPP | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.7 | 106.3 | 7.6 points Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario higher |
| 2012 | 102.1 | 104.5 | 2.4 points Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario higher |
| 2016 | 97.8 | 105.6 | 7.9 points Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario higher |
| 2020 | 103.2 | 104.4 | 1.3 points Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario higher |
| 2024 | 104.1 | 106.4 | 2.3 points Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario more expensive than Modesto?
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is 2.2% more expensive than Modesto. The overall cost index is 106.4 vs 104.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario equals $100K in Modesto?
A $100,000 salary in Modesto has the same purchasing power as $102,242 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Modesto and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?
Rents in Modesto are indexed at 108.5 while Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is at 129.3 (national average = 100). Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 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.