Overall
Diff +0.3 RPP
Rockford vs Appleton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Appleton is 0.3% more expensive than Rockford.
0.3% more expensive
Appleton, WI is 0.3% more expensive than Rockford, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.4 vs 92.2). A $100,000 salary in Rockford buys about the same as $100,288 in Appleton; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.2 (Rockford) vs 92.4 (Appleton)
- $100k in Rockford ≈ $100,288 purchasing power in Appleton
- Services drives the gap (+1.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:WI 92.2→92.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × WI
- 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.
Rockford
92.2
Cost Index
Appleton
92.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rockford, IL and Appleton, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Appleton 1.2 points higher than Rockford. 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 Rockford to $100,288 in Appleton, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.1 RPP
Services
Diff +1.2 RPP
Rents
Diff +0.7 RPP
| Category | Rockford | Appleton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.2 | 92.4 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.8 | +0.1 |
| Services | 89.4 | 90.6 | +1.2 |
| Rents | 70.1 | 70.8 | +0.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rockford 92.2
Appleton 92.4
Goods
Rockford 93.6
Appleton 93.8
Services
Rockford 89.4
Appleton 90.6
Rents
Rockford 70.1
Appleton 70.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Rockford would need to be in Appleton for the same purchasing power:
| In Rockford | In Appleton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,144 | +$144 |
| $75,000 | $75,216 | +$216 |
| $100,000 | $100,288 | +$288 |
| $150,000 | $150,431 | +$431 |
$ in Rockford = in Appleton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.2 → 92.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Appleton more expensive than Rockford?
Appleton is 0.3% more expensive than Rockford. The overall cost index is 92.4 vs 92.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Appleton equals $100K in Rockford?
A $100,000 salary in Rockford has the same purchasing power as $100,288 in Appleton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rockford and Appleton?
Rents in Rockford are indexed at 70.1 while Appleton is at 70.8 (national average = 100). Appleton 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.