Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- 102.4
Diff -1.2 RPP
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs Mount Vernon-Anacortes
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Mount Vernon-Anacortes is 1.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
1.2% less expensive
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA is 1.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 102.4 vs 103.7). A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater buys about the same as $98,816 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater) vs 102.4 (Mount Vernon-Anacortes)
- $100k in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ≈ $98,816 purchasing power in Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- Rents drives the gap (-8.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:WA 103.7→102.4
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · WA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
Mount Vernon-Anacortes
102.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA and Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Mount Vernon-Anacortes is 8.5 points lower. But services and goods 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 exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 $98,816 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- 105.0
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
Diff +4.3 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes
- 108.2
Diff -8.5 RPP
| Category | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Mount Vernon-Anacortes | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.7 | 102.4 | -1.2 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 105.0 | 0.0 |
| Services | 91.7 | 96.0 | +4.3 |
| Rents | 116.7 | 108.2 | -8.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 102.4
Goods
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 105.0
Services
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 96.0
Rents
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Mount Vernon-Anacortes 108.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Mount Vernon-Anacortes share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.5 to 1.2 RPP points. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 15.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (11.4 to 4.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater RPP | Mount Vernon-Anacortes RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 102.9 | 2.5 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2012 | 101.3 | 98.7 | 2.7 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2016 | 106.0 | 101.4 | 4.6 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2020 | 101.9 | 102.1 | 0.2 points Mount Vernon-Anacortes higher |
| 2024 | 103.7 | 102.4 | 1.2 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater would need to be in Mount Vernon-Anacortes for the same purchasing power:
| In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | In Mount Vernon-Anacortes | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,408 | $-592 |
| $75,000 | $74,112 | $-888 |
| $100,000 | $98,816 | $-1,184 |
| $150,000 | $148,225 | $-1,775 |
$ in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater = in Mount Vernon-Anacortes
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.7 → 102.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mount Vernon-Anacortes more expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Mount Vernon-Anacortes is 1.2% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. The overall cost index is 102.4 vs 103.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Mount Vernon-Anacortes equals $100K in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has the same purchasing power as $98,816 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Mount Vernon-Anacortes?
Rents in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater are indexed at 116.7 while Mount Vernon-Anacortes is at 108.2 (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.