Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
Diff -1.8 RPP
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro vs Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is 1.7% less expensive than Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro.
1.7% less expensive
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA is 1.7% less expensive than Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.7 vs 105.4). A $100,000 salary in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro buys about the same as $98,339 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 105.4 (Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro) vs 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater)
- $100k in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro ≈ $98,339 purchasing power in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- Services drives the gap (-15.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair OR:WA 105.4→103.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE OR × WA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro
105.4
Cost Index
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.8 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 15.3 points lower than Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro. 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.
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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to $98,339 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
Diff -0.2 RPP
Services
Diff -15.3 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
Diff -8.4 RPP
| Category | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 105.4 | 103.7 | -1.8 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 105.0 | -0.2 |
| Services | 107.0 | 91.7 | -15.3 |
| Rents | 125.1 | 116.7 | -8.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 105.4
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Goods
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 105.2
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Services
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 107.0
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Rents
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 125.1
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro would need to be in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater for the same purchasing power:
| In Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro | In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,170 | $-830 |
| $75,000 | $73,754 | $-1,246 |
| $100,000 | $98,339 | $-1,661 |
| $150,000 | $147,509 | $-2,491 |
$ in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro = in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (105.4 → 103.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater more expensive than Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is 1.7% less expensive than Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro. The overall cost index is 103.7 vs 105.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater equals $100K in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro?
A $100,000 salary in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro has the same purchasing power as $98,339 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Rents in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro are indexed at 125.1 while Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is at 116.7 (national average = 100). Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 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.