Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
- Las Cruces
- 90.2
Diff -13.5 RPP
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs Las Cruces
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Las Cruces is 13% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
13% less expensive
Las Cruces, NM is 13% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.2 vs 103.7). A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater buys about the same as $87,018 in Las Cruces; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater) vs 90.2 (Las Cruces)
- $100k in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ≈ $87,018 purchasing power in Las Cruces
- Rents drives the gap (-53.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:NM 103.7→90.2
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE WA × NM
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater would need to be in Las Cruces for the same purchasing power:
| In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | In Las Cruces | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $43,509 | $-6,491 |
| $75,000 | $65,264 | $-9,736 |
| $100,000 | $87,018 | $-12,982 |
| $150,000 | $130,528 | $-19,472 |
$ in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater = in Las Cruces
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.7 → 90.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA and Las Cruces, NM sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 13.5 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is above 100 while Las Cruces is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Las Cruces 53.7 points lower than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. 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 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater corresponds to $87,018 in Las Cruces.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
- Las Cruces
- 96.1
Diff -8.9 RPP
Services
- Las Cruces
- 77.9
Diff -13.8 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
- Las Cruces
- 63.0
Diff -53.7 RPP
| Category | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Las Cruces | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.7 | 90.2 | -13.5 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 96.1 | -8.9 |
| Services | 91.7 | 77.9 | -13.8 |
| Rents | 116.7 | 63.0 | -53.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Las Cruces 90.2
Goods
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Las Cruces 96.1
Services
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Las Cruces 77.9
Rents
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Las Cruces 63.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
Las Cruces
90.2
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Las Cruces share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 13.2 to 13.5 RPP points. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 18.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (4.4 to 13.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater RPP | Las Cruces RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 92.1 | 13.2 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2012 | 101.3 | 94.8 | 6.6 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2016 | 106.0 | 90.7 | 15.3 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2020 | 101.9 | 87.3 | 14.6 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2024 | 103.7 | 90.2 | 13.5 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 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 Las Cruces more expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Las Cruces is 13% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. The overall cost index is 90.2 vs 103.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Las Cruces equals $100K in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has the same purchasing power as $87,018 in Las Cruces. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Las Cruces?
Rents in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater are indexed at 116.7 while Las Cruces is at 63.0 (national average = 100). Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 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.