Overall
- Wausau
- 92.7
Diff -5.6 RPP
Prescott Valley-Prescott vs Wausau
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wausau is 5.7% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott.
5.7% less expensive
Wausau, WI is 5.7% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott buys about the same as $94,296 in Wausau; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Prescott Valley-Prescott) vs 92.7 (Wausau)
- $100k in Prescott Valley-Prescott ≈ $94,296 purchasing power in Wausau
- Rents drives the gap (-27.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AZ:WI 98.3→92.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE AZ × WI
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott would need to be in Wausau for the same purchasing power:
| In Prescott Valley-Prescott | In Wausau | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,148 | $-2,852 |
| $75,000 | $70,722 | $-4,278 |
| $100,000 | $94,296 | $-5,704 |
| $150,000 | $141,445 | $-8,555 |
$ in Prescott Valley-Prescott = in Wausau
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
Wausau, WI is 5.7% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.6-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Wausau 27.3 points lower 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 $94,296 in Wausau.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Wausau
- 93.8
Diff -2.4 RPP
Services
- Wausau
- 90.0
Diff -1.5 RPP
Rents
- Wausau
- 71.5
Diff -27.3 RPP
| Category | Prescott Valley-Prescott | Wausau | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 92.7 | -5.6 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.8 | -2.4 |
| Services | 91.5 | 90.0 | -1.5 |
| Rents | 98.8 | 71.5 | -27.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.3
Wausau 92.7
Goods
Prescott Valley-Prescott 96.2
Wausau 93.8
Services
Prescott Valley-Prescott 91.5
Wausau 90.0
Rents
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.8
Wausau 71.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Prescott Valley-Prescott
98.3
Cost Index
Wausau
92.7
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Prescott Valley-Prescott and Wausau share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 8.2 to 5.6 RPP points. Prescott Valley-Prescott remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 15.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (13.5 to 1.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Prescott Valley-Prescott RPP | Wausau RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 103.0 | 94.8 | 8.2 points Prescott Valley-Prescott higher |
| 2012 | 96.5 | 94.1 | 2.5 points Prescott Valley-Prescott higher |
| 2016 | 98.6 | 92.0 | 6.6 points Prescott Valley-Prescott higher |
| 2020 | 93.2 | 90.2 | 3.0 points Prescott Valley-Prescott higher |
| 2024 | 98.3 | 92.7 | 5.6 points Prescott Valley-Prescott 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 Wausau more expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott?
Wausau is 5.7% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wausau equals $100K in Prescott Valley-Prescott?
A $100,000 salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott has the same purchasing power as $94,296 in Wausau. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Prescott Valley-Prescott and Wausau?
Rents in Prescott Valley-Prescott are indexed at 98.8 while Wausau is at 71.5 (national average = 100). Prescott Valley-Prescott 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.