Overall
- Dubuque
- 87.3
Diff -25.2 RPP
New York-Newark-Jersey City vs Dubuque
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dubuque is 22.4% less expensive than New York-Newark-Jersey City.
22.4% less expensive
Dubuque, IA is 22.4% less expensive than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.3 vs 112.6). A $100,000 salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City buys about the same as $77,581 in Dubuque; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 112.6 (New York-Newark-Jersey City) vs 87.3 (Dubuque)
- $100k in New York-Newark-Jersey City ≈ $77,581 purchasing power in Dubuque
- Rents drives the gap (-84.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:IA 112.6→87.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE NY × IA
- 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City would need to be in Dubuque for the same purchasing power:
| In New York-Newark-Jersey City | In Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $38,791 | $-11,209 |
| $75,000 | $58,186 | $-16,814 |
| $100,000 | $77,581 | $-22,419 |
| $150,000 | $116,372 | $-33,628 |
$ in New York-Newark-Jersey City = in Dubuque
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (112.6 → 87.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ and Dubuque, IA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 25.2 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: New York-Newark-Jersey City is above 100 while Dubuque is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Dubuque 84.6 points lower than New York-Newark-Jersey City. 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City corresponds to $77,581 in Dubuque.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Dubuque
- 93.7
Diff -16.5 RPP
Services
- Dubuque
- 81.2
Diff -45.8 RPP
Rents
- Dubuque
- 64.0
Diff -84.6 RPP
| Category | New York-Newark-Jersey City | Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 112.6 | 87.3 | -25.2 |
| Goods | 110.3 | 93.7 | -16.5 |
| Services | 127.0 | 81.2 | -45.8 |
| Rents | 148.6 | 64.0 | -84.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
New York-Newark-Jersey City 112.6
Dubuque 87.3
Goods
New York-Newark-Jersey City 110.3
Dubuque 93.7
Services
New York-Newark-Jersey City 127.0
Dubuque 81.2
Rents
New York-Newark-Jersey City 148.6
Dubuque 64.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
New York-Newark-Jersey City
112.6
Cost Index
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubuque more expensive than New York-Newark-Jersey City?
Dubuque is 22.4% less expensive than New York-Newark-Jersey City. The overall cost index is 87.3 vs 112.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dubuque equals $100K in New York-Newark-Jersey City?
A $100,000 salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City has the same purchasing power as $77,581 in Dubuque. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between New York-Newark-Jersey City and Dubuque?
Rents in New York-Newark-Jersey City are indexed at 148.6 while Dubuque is at 64.0 (national average = 100). New York-Newark-Jersey City 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.