Overall
Diff +10.6 RPP
Prescott Valley-Prescott vs Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 10.8% more expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott.
10.8% more expensive
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 10.8% more expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.9 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott buys about the same as $110,818 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Prescott Valley-Prescott) vs 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria)
- $100k in Prescott Valley-Prescott ≈ $110,818 purchasing power in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
- Rents drives the gap (+52.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AZ:DC 98.3→108.9
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE AZ × DC
- 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 Prescott Valley-Prescott would need to be in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria for the same purchasing power:
| In Prescott Valley-Prescott | In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $55,409 | +$5,409 |
| $75,000 | $83,113 | +$8,113 |
| $100,000 | $110,818 | +$10,818 |
| $150,000 | $166,227 | +$16,227 |
$ in Prescott Valley-Prescott = in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 108.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 10.6 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is above 100 while Prescott Valley-Prescott is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 52.4 points higher than Prescott Valley-Prescott. 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 Prescott Valley-Prescott corresponds to $110,818 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +8.6 RPP
Services
Diff +15.2 RPP
Rents
Diff +52.4 RPP
| Category | Prescott Valley-Prescott | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 108.9 | +10.6 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 104.8 | +8.6 |
| Services | 91.5 | 106.7 | +15.2 |
| Rents | 98.8 | 151.1 | +52.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.3
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Goods
Prescott Valley-Prescott 96.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Services
Prescott Valley-Prescott 91.5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Rents
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.8
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Prescott Valley-Prescott
98.3
Cost Index
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Prescott Valley-Prescott and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 11.8 to 10.6 RPP points. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 14.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (29.3 to 15.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Prescott Valley-Prescott RPP | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.0 | 114.8 | 11.8 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2012 | 96.5 | 111.7 | 15.1 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2016 | 98.6 | 112.1 | 13.5 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2020 | 93.2 | 111.4 | 18.3 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria higher |
| 2024 | 98.3 | 108.9 | 10.6 points Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria more expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott?
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is 10.8% more expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott. The overall cost index is 108.9 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria equals $100K in Prescott Valley-Prescott?
A $100,000 salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott has the same purchasing power as $110,818 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Prescott Valley-Prescott and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Rents in Prescott Valley-Prescott are indexed at 98.8 while Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is at 151.1 (national average = 100). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.