Overall
- Portland-South Portland
- 101.9
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff -3.6 RPP
Portland-South Portland vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 3.5% less expensive than Portland-South Portland.
3.5% less expensive
Merced, CA is 3.5% less expensive than Portland-South Portland, ME on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 101.9). A $100,000 salary in Portland-South Portland buys about the same as $96,482 in Merced; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 101.9 (Portland-South Portland) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Portland-South Portland ≈ $96,482 purchasing power in Merced
- Rents drives the gap (-26.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ME:CA 101.9→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE ME × 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
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +8.0 RPP
Services
- Portland-South Portland
- 134.6
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +23.7 RPP
Rents
- Portland-South Portland
- 105.2
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff -26.5 RPP
| Category | Portland-South Portland | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 101.9 | 98.3 | -3.6 |
| Goods | 97.2 | 105.2 | +8.0 |
| Services | 134.6 | 158.3 | +23.7 |
| Rents | 105.2 | 78.6 | -26.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Portland-South Portland 101.9
Merced 98.3
Goods
Portland-South Portland 97.2
Merced 105.2
Services
Portland-South Portland 134.6
Merced 158.3
Rents
Portland-South Portland 105.2
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rents creates the largest separation: Merced is 26.5 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.
Merced, CA is 3.5% less expensive than Portland-South Portland, ME, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 3.6-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Portland-South Portland 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 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 Portland-South Portland corresponds to $96,482 in Merced.
Portland-South Portland
101.9
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Portland-South Portland would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Portland-South Portland | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,241 | $-1,759 |
| $75,000 | $72,362 | $-2,638 |
| $100,000 | $96,482 | $-3,518 |
| $150,000 | $144,724 | $-5,276 |
$ in Portland-South Portland = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (101.9 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Portland-South Portland?
Merced is 3.5% less expensive than Portland-South Portland. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 101.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Portland-South Portland?
A $100,000 salary in Portland-South Portland has the same purchasing power as $96,482 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Portland-South Portland and Merced?
Rents in Portland-South Portland are indexed at 105.2 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Portland-South Portland 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.