Overall
- Rockford
- 92.2
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 91.8
Diff -0.4 RPP
Rockford vs La Crosse-Onalaska
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. La Crosse-Onalaska is 0.4% less expensive than Rockford.
0.4% less expensive
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN is 0.4% less expensive than Rockford, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.8 vs 92.2). A $100,000 salary in Rockford buys about the same as $99,582 in La Crosse-Onalaska; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.2 (Rockford) vs 91.8 (La Crosse-Onalaska)
- $100k in Rockford ≈ $99,582 purchasing power in La Crosse-Onalaska
- Rents drives the gap (-0.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:WI 92.2→91.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IL × 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.
Rockford
92.2
Cost Index
La Crosse-Onalaska
91.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rockford, IL and La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: La Crosse-Onalaska is 0.7 points lower. But goods and services 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 Rockford corresponds to $99,582 in La Crosse-Onalaska.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rockford
- 93.6
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 93.8
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Rockford
- 89.4
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 89.5
Diff +0.2 RPP
Rents
- Rockford
- 70.1
- La Crosse-Onalaska
- 69.4
Diff -0.7 RPP
| Category | Rockford | La Crosse-Onalaska | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.2 | 91.8 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.8 | +0.2 |
| Services | 89.4 | 89.5 | +0.2 |
| Rents | 70.1 | 69.4 | -0.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rockford 92.2
La Crosse-Onalaska 91.8
Goods
Rockford 93.6
La Crosse-Onalaska 93.8
Services
Rockford 89.4
La Crosse-Onalaska 89.5
Rents
Rockford 70.1
La Crosse-Onalaska 69.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Rockford and La Crosse-Onalaska share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 3.3 to 0.4 RPP points. Rockford remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 5.6 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.3 to 0.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Rockford RPP | La Crosse-Onalaska RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.7 | 93.3 | 3.3 points Rockford higher |
| 2012 | 93.9 | 93.2 | 0.7 points Rockford higher |
| 2016 | 93.3 | 92.8 | 0.5 points Rockford higher |
| 2020 | 91.8 | 89.5 | 2.3 points Rockford higher |
| 2024 | 92.2 | 91.8 | 0.4 points Rockford higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Rockford would need to be in La Crosse-Onalaska for the same purchasing power:
| In Rockford | In La Crosse-Onalaska | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,791 | $-209 |
| $75,000 | $74,687 | $-313 |
| $100,000 | $99,582 | $-418 |
| $150,000 | $149,373 | $-627 |
$ in Rockford = in La Crosse-Onalaska
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.2 → 91.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is La Crosse-Onalaska more expensive than Rockford?
La Crosse-Onalaska is 0.4% less expensive than Rockford. The overall cost index is 91.8 vs 92.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in La Crosse-Onalaska equals $100K in Rockford?
A $100,000 salary in Rockford has the same purchasing power as $99,582 in La Crosse-Onalaska. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rockford and La Crosse-Onalaska?
Rents in Rockford are indexed at 70.1 while La Crosse-Onalaska is at 69.4 (national average = 100). Rockford 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.