Overall
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 98.2
Diff -0.2 RPP
Provo-Orem-Lehi vs Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is 0.2% less expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi.
0.2% less expensive
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX is 0.2% less expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.1 vs 98.2). A $100,000 salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi buys about the same as $99,831 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.2 (Provo-Orem-Lehi) vs 98.1 (Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos)
- $100k in Provo-Orem-Lehi ≈ $99,831 purchasing power in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
- Rents drives the gap (+16.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair UT:TX 98.2→98.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE UT × TX
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 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.
Provo-Orem-Lehi
98.2
Cost Index
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
98.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT and Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is 16.3 points higher. But rents and services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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.
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 Provo-Orem-Lehi corresponds to $99,831 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 96.4
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 78.6
Diff +3.4 RPP
Rents
- Provo-Orem-Lehi
- 104.1
Diff +16.3 RPP
| Category | Provo-Orem-Lehi | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.2 | 98.1 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.8 | -2.7 |
| Services | 78.6 | 82.0 | +3.4 |
| Rents | 104.1 | 120.4 | +16.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Provo-Orem-Lehi 98.2
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 98.1
Goods
Provo-Orem-Lehi 96.4
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 93.8
Services
Provo-Orem-Lehi 78.6
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 82.0
Rents
Provo-Orem-Lehi 104.1
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 120.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi would need to be in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos for the same purchasing power:
| In Provo-Orem-Lehi | In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,916 | $-84 |
| $75,000 | $74,873 | $-127 |
| $100,000 | $99,831 | $-169 |
| $150,000 | $149,747 | $-253 |
$ in Provo-Orem-Lehi = in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.2 → 98.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos more expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is 0.2% less expensive than Provo-Orem-Lehi. The overall cost index is 98.1 vs 98.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos equals $100K in Provo-Orem-Lehi?
A $100,000 salary in Provo-Orem-Lehi has the same purchasing power as $99,831 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Provo-Orem-Lehi and Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Rents in Provo-Orem-Lehi are indexed at 104.1 while Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is at 120.4 (national average = 100). Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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.