Overall
- Napa
- 112.6
- Fond du Lac
- 91.6
Diff -20.9 RPP
Napa vs Fond du Lac
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fond du Lac is 18.6% less expensive than Napa.
18.6% less expensive
Fond du Lac, WI is 18.6% less expensive than Napa, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.6 vs 112.6). A $100,000 salary in Napa buys about the same as $81,421 in Fond du Lac; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 112.6 (Napa) vs 91.6 (Fond du Lac)
- $100k in Napa ≈ $81,421 purchasing power in Fond du Lac
- Rents drives the gap (-130.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:WI 112.6→91.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE CA × WI
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Napa would need to be in Fond du Lac for the same purchasing power:
| In Napa | In Fond du Lac | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $40,711 | $-9,289 |
| $75,000 | $61,066 | $-13,934 |
| $100,000 | $81,421 | $-18,579 |
| $150,000 | $122,132 | $-27,868 |
$ in Napa = in Fond du Lac
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (112.6 → 91.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Napa, CA and Fond du Lac, WI sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 20.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Napa is above 100 while Fond du Lac is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Fond du Lac 130.1 points lower than Napa. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 Napa corresponds to $81,421 in Fond du Lac.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Napa
- 105.2
- Fond du Lac
- 93.8
Diff -11.4 RPP
Services
- Napa
- 156.5
- Fond du Lac
- 91.1
Diff -65.4 RPP
Rents
- Napa
- 197.4
- Fond du Lac
- 67.3
Diff -130.1 RPP
| Category | Napa | Fond du Lac | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 112.6 | 91.6 | -20.9 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 93.8 | -11.4 |
| Services | 156.5 | 91.1 | -65.4 |
| Rents | 197.4 | 67.3 | -130.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Napa 112.6
Fond du Lac 91.6
Goods
Napa 105.2
Fond du Lac 93.8
Services
Napa 156.5
Fond du Lac 91.1
Rents
Napa 197.4
Fond du Lac 67.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Napa
112.6
Cost Index
Fond du Lac
91.6
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Napa and Fond du Lac share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 31.8 to 20.9 RPP points. Napa remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 60.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (70.0 to 130.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Napa RPP | Fond du Lac RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 115.2 | 83.4 | 31.8 points Napa higher |
| 2012 | 111.6 | 91.0 | 20.6 points Napa higher |
| 2016 | 117.8 | 88.2 | 29.6 points Napa higher |
| 2020 | 112.2 | 91.2 | 21.0 points Napa higher |
| 2024 | 112.6 | 91.6 | 20.9 points Napa 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 Fond du Lac more expensive than Napa?
Fond du Lac is 18.6% less expensive than Napa. The overall cost index is 91.6 vs 112.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fond du Lac equals $100K in Napa?
A $100,000 salary in Napa has the same purchasing power as $81,421 in Fond du Lac. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Napa and Fond du Lac?
Rents in Napa are indexed at 197.4 while Fond du Lac is at 67.3 (national average = 100). Napa 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.