Overall
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
Diff -6.8 RPP
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara vs Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is 6.1% less expensive than San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara.
6.1% less expensive
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA is 6.1% less expensive than San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.7 vs 110.4). A $100,000 salary in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara buys about the same as $93,884 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 110.4 (San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara) vs 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater)
- $100k in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara ≈ $93,884 purchasing power in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- Rents drives the gap (-95.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CA:WA 110.4→103.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE CA × WA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara would need to be in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater for the same purchasing power:
| In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,942 | $-3,058 |
| $75,000 | $70,413 | $-4,587 |
| $100,000 | $93,884 | $-6,116 |
| $150,000 | $140,827 | $-9,173 |
$ in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara = in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (110.4 → 103.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA is 6.1% less expensive than San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.8-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 95.2 points lower than San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara. 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara corresponds to $93,884 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
Diff -65.0 RPP
Rents
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
Diff -95.2 RPP
| Category | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 110.4 | 103.7 | -6.8 |
| Goods | 105.2 | 105.0 | -0.1 |
| Services | 156.7 | 91.7 | -65.0 |
| Rents | 211.9 | 116.7 | -95.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 110.4
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Goods
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 105.2
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Services
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 156.7
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Rents
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 211.9
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
110.4
Cost Index
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 13.9 to 6.8 RPP points. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 31.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (33.1 to 65.0 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara RPP | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 119.3 | 105.4 | 13.9 points San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara higher |
| 2012 | 113.4 | 101.3 | 12.1 points San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara higher |
| 2016 | 117.7 | 106.0 | 11.7 points San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara higher |
| 2020 | 113.5 | 101.9 | 11.6 points San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara higher |
| 2024 | 110.4 | 103.7 | 6.8 points San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater more expensive than San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara?
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is 6.1% less expensive than San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara. The overall cost index is 103.7 vs 110.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater equals $100K in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara?
A $100,000 salary in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara has the same purchasing power as $93,884 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Rents in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara are indexed at 211.9 while Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is at 116.7 (national average = 100). San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.