Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
- Raleigh-Cary
- 98.2
Diff -5.5 RPP
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs Raleigh-Cary
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Raleigh-Cary is 5.3% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
5.3% less expensive
Raleigh-Cary, NC is 5.3% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.2 vs 103.7). A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater buys about the same as $94,682 in Raleigh-Cary; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater) vs 98.2 (Raleigh-Cary)
- $100k in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ≈ $94,682 purchasing power in Raleigh-Cary
- Rents drives the gap (-13.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:NC 103.7→98.2
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × NC
- 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 Raleigh-Cary for the same purchasing power:
| In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | In Raleigh-Cary | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,341 | $-2,659 |
| $75,000 | $71,012 | $-3,988 |
| $100,000 | $94,682 | $-5,318 |
| $150,000 | $142,023 | $-7,977 |
$ in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater = in Raleigh-Cary
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.7 → 98.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Raleigh-Cary, NC is 5.3% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.5-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is above 100 while Raleigh-Cary is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Raleigh-Cary 13.2 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 $94,682 in Raleigh-Cary.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
- Raleigh-Cary
- 96.6
Diff -8.4 RPP
Services
- Raleigh-Cary
- 89.0
Diff -2.7 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
- Raleigh-Cary
- 103.5
Diff -13.2 RPP
| Category | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Raleigh-Cary | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.7 | 98.2 | -5.5 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 96.6 | -8.4 |
| Services | 91.7 | 89.0 | -2.7 |
| Rents | 116.7 | 103.5 | -13.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Raleigh-Cary 98.2
Goods
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Raleigh-Cary 96.6
Services
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Raleigh-Cary 89.0
Rents
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Raleigh-Cary 103.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
Raleigh-Cary
98.2
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Raleigh-Cary share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 8.4 to 5.5 RPP points. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.7 to 2.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater RPP | Raleigh-Cary RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 97.0 | 8.4 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2012 | 101.3 | 98.0 | 3.3 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2016 | 106.0 | 99.3 | 6.8 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2020 | 101.9 | 95.4 | 6.5 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2024 | 103.7 | 98.2 | 5.5 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 Raleigh-Cary more expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Raleigh-Cary is 5.3% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. The overall cost index is 98.2 vs 103.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Raleigh-Cary equals $100K in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has the same purchasing power as $94,682 in Raleigh-Cary. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Raleigh-Cary?
Rents in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater are indexed at 116.7 while Raleigh-Cary is at 103.5 (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.