Overall
- Rochester
- 90.8
Diff +12.3 RPP
Rochester vs Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is 13.5% more expensive than Rochester.
13.5% more expensive
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX is 13.5% more expensive than Rochester, MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.1 vs 90.8). A $100,000 salary in Rochester buys about the same as $113,509 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.8 (Rochester) vs 103.1 (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington)
- $100k in Rochester ≈ $113,509 purchasing power in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
- Rents drives the gap (+39.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MN:TX 90.8→103.1
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE MN × TX
- 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 Rochester would need to be in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington for the same purchasing power:
| In Rochester | In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $56,754 | +$6,754 |
| $75,000 | $85,132 | +$10,132 |
| $100,000 | $113,509 | +$13,509 |
| $150,000 | $170,263 | +$20,263 |
$ in Rochester = in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.8 → 103.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rochester, MN and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.3 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is above 100 while Rochester is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 39.2 points higher than Rochester. 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 Rochester corresponds to $113,509 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rochester
- 95.4
Diff +7.4 RPP
Services
- Rochester
- 87.4
Diff +3.3 RPP
Rents
- Rochester
- 78.6
Diff +39.2 RPP
| Category | Rochester | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.8 | 103.1 | +12.3 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 102.8 | +7.4 |
| Services | 87.4 | 90.7 | +3.3 |
| Rents | 78.6 | 117.9 | +39.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rochester 90.8
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 103.1
Goods
Rochester 95.4
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 102.8
Services
Rochester 87.4
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 90.7
Rents
Rochester 78.6
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 117.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Rochester
90.8
Cost Index
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
103.1
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington more expensive than Rochester?
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is 13.5% more expensive than Rochester. The overall cost index is 103.1 vs 90.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington equals $100K in Rochester?
A $100,000 salary in Rochester has the same purchasing power as $113,509 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rochester and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
Rents in Rochester are indexed at 78.6 while Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is at 117.9 (national average = 100). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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.