Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
- Redding
- 100.7
Diff -3.0 RPP
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs Redding
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Redding is 2.9% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
2.9% less expensive
Redding, CA is 2.9% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 100.7 vs 103.7). A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater buys about the same as $97,120 in Redding; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater) vs 100.7 (Redding)
- $100k in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ≈ $97,120 purchasing power in Redding
- Services drives the gap (+66.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:CA 103.7→100.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- 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
- Redding
- 105.2
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
- Redding
- 157.7
Diff +66.0 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
- Redding
- 89.4
Diff -27.3 RPP
| Category | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Redding | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.7 | 100.7 | -3.0 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 105.2 | +0.1 |
| Services | 91.7 | 157.7 | +66.0 |
| Rents | 116.7 | 89.4 | -27.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Redding 100.7
Goods
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Redding 105.2
Services
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Redding 157.7
Rents
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Redding 89.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Redding is 66.0 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.
Redding, CA is 2.9% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.0-point overall gap.
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.
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 $97,120 in Redding, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
Redding
100.7
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater would need to be in Redding for the same purchasing power:
| In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | In Redding | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,560 | $-1,440 |
| $75,000 | $72,840 | $-2,160 |
| $100,000 | $97,120 | $-2,880 |
| $150,000 | $145,680 | $-4,320 |
$ in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater = in Redding
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.7 → 100.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Redding share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 8.0 to 3.0 RPP points. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 45.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (20.4 to 66.0 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater RPP | Redding RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 105.4 | 97.3 | 8.0 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2012 | 101.3 | 102.3 | 1.0 points Redding higher |
| 2016 | 106.0 | 96.4 | 9.6 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2020 | 101.9 | 99.6 | 2.3 points Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater higher |
| 2024 | 103.7 | 100.7 | 3.0 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 Redding more expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Redding is 2.9% less expensive than Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. The overall cost index is 100.7 vs 103.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Redding equals $100K in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
A $100,000 salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has the same purchasing power as $97,120 in Redding. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater and Redding?
Rents in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater are indexed at 116.7 while Redding is at 89.4 (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.