Overall
- Morgantown
- 93.3
- Janesville-Beloit
- 93.7
Diff +0.4 RPP
Morgantown vs Janesville-Beloit
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Janesville-Beloit is 0.4% more expensive than Morgantown.
0.4% more expensive
Janesville-Beloit, WI is 0.4% more expensive than Morgantown, WV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.7 vs 93.3). A $100,000 salary in Morgantown buys about the same as $100,407 in Janesville-Beloit; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 93.3 (Morgantown) vs 93.7 (Janesville-Beloit)
- $100k in Morgantown ≈ $100,407 purchasing power in Janesville-Beloit
- Rents drives the gap (+10.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WV:WI 93.3→93.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WV × 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.
Morgantown
93.3
Cost Index
Janesville-Beloit
93.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Morgantown, WV and Janesville-Beloit, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Janesville-Beloit is 10.4 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.
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 Morgantown corresponds to $100,407 in Janesville-Beloit.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Morgantown
- 96.3
- Janesville-Beloit
- 93.8
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Morgantown
- 92.5
- Janesville-Beloit
- 90.4
Diff -2.2 RPP
Rents
- Morgantown
- 69.1
- Janesville-Beloit
- 79.6
Diff +10.4 RPP
| Category | Morgantown | Janesville-Beloit | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.3 | 93.7 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 93.8 | -2.5 |
| Services | 92.5 | 90.4 | -2.2 |
| Rents | 69.1 | 79.6 | +10.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Morgantown 93.3
Janesville-Beloit 93.7
Goods
Morgantown 96.3
Janesville-Beloit 93.8
Services
Morgantown 92.5
Janesville-Beloit 90.4
Rents
Morgantown 69.1
Janesville-Beloit 79.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Morgantown would need to be in Janesville-Beloit for the same purchasing power:
| In Morgantown | In Janesville-Beloit | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,204 | +$204 |
| $75,000 | $75,305 | +$305 |
| $100,000 | $100,407 | +$407 |
| $150,000 | $150,611 | +$611 |
$ in Morgantown = in Janesville-Beloit
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.3 → 93.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Janesville-Beloit more expensive than Morgantown?
Janesville-Beloit is 0.4% more expensive than Morgantown. The overall cost index is 93.7 vs 93.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Janesville-Beloit equals $100K in Morgantown?
A $100,000 salary in Morgantown has the same purchasing power as $100,407 in Janesville-Beloit. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Morgantown and Janesville-Beloit?
Rents in Morgantown are indexed at 69.1 while Janesville-Beloit is at 79.6 (national average = 100). Janesville-Beloit 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.