Overall
- Roanoke
- 93.6
- Janesville-Beloit
- 93.7
Diff +0.1 RPP
Roanoke vs Janesville-Beloit
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Janesville-Beloit is 0.1% more expensive than Roanoke.
0.1% more expensive
Janesville-Beloit, WI is 0.1% more expensive than Roanoke, VA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 93.7 vs 93.6). A $100,000 salary in Roanoke buys about the same as $100,091 in Janesville-Beloit; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 93.6 (Roanoke) vs 93.7 (Janesville-Beloit)
- $100k in Roanoke ≈ $100,091 purchasing power in Janesville-Beloit
- Goods drives the gap (-3.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair VA:WI 93.6→93.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE VA × WI
- 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.
Roanoke
93.6
Cost Index
Janesville-Beloit
93.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Roanoke, VA and Janesville-Beloit, WI 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.
Goods creates the largest separation: Janesville-Beloit is 3.0 points lower. But 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 goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $100,091 in Janesville-Beloit as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Roanoke, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Roanoke
- 96.8
- Janesville-Beloit
- 93.8
Diff -3.0 RPP
Services
- Roanoke
- 88.9
- Janesville-Beloit
- 90.4
Diff +1.4 RPP
Rents
- Roanoke
- 78.5
- Janesville-Beloit
- 79.6
Diff +1.0 RPP
| Category | Roanoke | Janesville-Beloit | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 93.6 | 93.7 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 96.8 | 93.8 | -3.0 |
| Services | 88.9 | 90.4 | +1.4 |
| Rents | 78.5 | 79.6 | +1.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Roanoke 93.6
Janesville-Beloit 93.7
Goods
Roanoke 96.8
Janesville-Beloit 93.8
Services
Roanoke 88.9
Janesville-Beloit 90.4
Rents
Roanoke 78.5
Janesville-Beloit 79.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Roanoke would need to be in Janesville-Beloit for the same purchasing power:
| In Roanoke | In Janesville-Beloit | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,045 | +$45 |
| $75,000 | $75,068 | +$68 |
| $100,000 | $100,091 | +$91 |
| $150,000 | $150,136 | +$136 |
$ in Roanoke = in Janesville-Beloit
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (93.6 → 93.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Janesville-Beloit more expensive than Roanoke?
Janesville-Beloit is 0.1% more expensive than Roanoke. The overall cost index is 93.7 vs 93.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Janesville-Beloit equals $100K in Roanoke?
A $100,000 salary in Roanoke has the same purchasing power as $100,091 in Janesville-Beloit. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Roanoke and Janesville-Beloit?
Rents in Roanoke are indexed at 78.5 while Janesville-Beloit is at 79.6 (national average = 100). Janesville-Beloit 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.