Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff -5.4 RPP
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 5.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
5.2% less expensive
Merced, CA is 5.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 103.7). A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater buys about the same as $94,796 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ≈ $94,796 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+66.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:CA 103.7→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +66.6 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff -38.0 RPP
| Category | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.7 | 98.3 | -5.4 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 105.2 | +0.1 |
| Services | 91.7 | 158.3 | +66.6 |
| Rents | 116.7 | 78.6 | -38.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Merced 98.3
Goods
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Merced 105.2
Services
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Merced 158.3
Rents
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Merced is 66.6 points higher. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Merced, CA is 5.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.4-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is above 100 while Merced is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater to $94,796 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,398 | $-2,602 |
| $75,000 | $71,097 | $-3,903 |
| $100,000 | $94,796 | $-5,204 |
| $150,000 | $142,194 | $-7,806 |
$ in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.7 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Merced is 5.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 103.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has the same purchasing power as $94,796 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Merced?
Rents in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater are indexed at 116.7 while Merced is at 78.6 (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.