Overall
- Rochester
- 90.8
- Oklahoma City
- 90.4
Diff -0.4 RPP
Rochester vs Oklahoma City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Oklahoma City is 0.5% less expensive than Rochester.
0.5% less expensive
Oklahoma City, OK is 0.5% less expensive than Rochester, MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.4 vs 90.8). A $100,000 salary in Rochester buys about the same as $99,545 in Oklahoma City; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 90.8 (Rochester) vs 90.4 (Oklahoma City)
- $100k in Rochester ≈ $99,545 purchasing power in Oklahoma City
- Services drives the gap (-13.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MN:OK 90.8→90.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MN × OK
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Rochester
90.8
Cost Index
Oklahoma City
90.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rochester, MN and Oklahoma City, OK are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Oklahoma City 13.3 points lower 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.
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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Rochester to $99,545 in Oklahoma City, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rochester
- 95.4
- Oklahoma City
- 93.8
Diff -1.7 RPP
Services
- Rochester
- 87.4
- Oklahoma City
- 74.1
Diff -13.3 RPP
Rents
- Rochester
- 78.6
- Oklahoma City
- 73.9
Diff -4.7 RPP
| Category | Rochester | Oklahoma City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.8 | 90.4 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 93.8 | -1.7 |
| Services | 87.4 | 74.1 | -13.3 |
| Rents | 78.6 | 73.9 | -4.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rochester 90.8
Oklahoma City 90.4
Goods
Rochester 95.4
Oklahoma City 93.8
Services
Rochester 87.4
Oklahoma City 74.1
Rents
Rochester 78.6
Oklahoma City 73.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Rochester would need to be in Oklahoma City for the same purchasing power:
| In Rochester | In Oklahoma City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,773 | $-227 |
| $75,000 | $74,659 | $-341 |
| $100,000 | $99,545 | $-455 |
| $150,000 | $149,318 | $-682 |
$ in Rochester = in Oklahoma City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.8 → 90.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Oklahoma City more expensive than Rochester?
Oklahoma City is 0.5% less expensive than Rochester. The overall cost index is 90.4 vs 90.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Oklahoma City equals $100K in Rochester?
A $100,000 salary in Rochester has the same purchasing power as $99,545 in Oklahoma City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rochester and Oklahoma City?
Rents in Rochester are indexed at 78.6 while Oklahoma City is at 73.9 (national average = 100). Rochester 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.