Overall
- Rapid City
- 89.2
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 89.0
Diff -0.1 RPP
Rapid City vs Weirton-Steubenville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Weirton-Steubenville is 0.2% less expensive than Rapid City.
0.2% less expensive
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH is 0.2% less expensive than Rapid City, SD on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.0 vs 89.2). A $100,000 salary in Rapid City buys about the same as $99,847 in Weirton-Steubenville; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 89.2 (Rapid City) vs 89.0 (Weirton-Steubenville)
- $100k in Rapid City ≈ $99,847 purchasing power in Weirton-Steubenville
- Rents drives the gap (-20.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair SD:WV 89.2→89.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE SD × WV
- 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.
Rapid City
89.2
Cost Index
Weirton-Steubenville
89.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rapid City, SD and Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Weirton-Steubenville is 20.2 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.
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 Rapid City corresponds to $99,847 in Weirton-Steubenville.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rapid City
- 95.5
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 96.4
Diff +1.0 RPP
Services
- Rapid City
- 79.1
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 95.0
Diff +15.9 RPP
Rents
- Rapid City
- 72.6
- Weirton-Steubenville
- 52.4
Diff -20.2 RPP
| Category | Rapid City | Weirton-Steubenville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.2 | 89.0 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 95.5 | 96.4 | +1.0 |
| Services | 79.1 | 95.0 | +15.9 |
| Rents | 72.6 | 52.4 | -20.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rapid City 89.2
Weirton-Steubenville 89.0
Goods
Rapid City 95.5
Weirton-Steubenville 96.4
Services
Rapid City 79.1
Weirton-Steubenville 95.0
Rents
Rapid City 72.6
Weirton-Steubenville 52.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Rapid City would need to be in Weirton-Steubenville for the same purchasing power:
| In Rapid City | In Weirton-Steubenville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,924 | $-76 |
| $75,000 | $74,886 | $-114 |
| $100,000 | $99,847 | $-153 |
| $150,000 | $149,771 | $-229 |
$ in Rapid City = in Weirton-Steubenville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.2 → 89.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Weirton-Steubenville more expensive than Rapid City?
Weirton-Steubenville is 0.2% less expensive than Rapid City. The overall cost index is 89.0 vs 89.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Weirton-Steubenville equals $100K in Rapid City?
A $100,000 salary in Rapid City has the same purchasing power as $99,847 in Weirton-Steubenville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rapid City and Weirton-Steubenville?
Rents in Rapid City are indexed at 72.6 while Weirton-Steubenville is at 52.4 (national average = 100). Rapid City 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.