Overall
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 111.1
Diff -12.9 RPP
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue vs Prescott Valley-Prescott
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Prescott Valley-Prescott is 11.6% less expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
11.6% less expensive
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ is 11.6% less expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 111.1). A $100,000 salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue buys about the same as $88,412 in Prescott Valley-Prescott; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 111.1 (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue) vs 98.3 (Prescott Valley-Prescott)
- $100k in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ≈ $88,412 purchasing power in Prescott Valley-Prescott
- Rents drives the gap (-52.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:AZ 111.1→98.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE WA × AZ
- 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue would need to be in Prescott Valley-Prescott for the same purchasing power:
| In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | In Prescott Valley-Prescott | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $44,206 | $-5,794 |
| $75,000 | $66,309 | $-8,691 |
| $100,000 | $88,412 | $-11,588 |
| $150,000 | $132,618 | $-17,382 |
$ in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue = in Prescott Valley-Prescott
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (111.1 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is above 100 while Prescott Valley-Prescott is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Prescott Valley-Prescott 52.5 points lower than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue corresponds to $88,412 in Prescott Valley-Prescott.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 104.0
Diff -7.7 RPP
Services
Diff -1.4 RPP
Rents
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
- 151.3
Diff -52.5 RPP
| Category | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | Prescott Valley-Prescott | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 111.1 | 98.3 | -12.9 |
| Goods | 104.0 | 96.2 | -7.7 |
| Services | 92.8 | 91.5 | -1.4 |
| Rents | 151.3 | 98.8 | -52.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 111.1
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.3
Goods
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 104.0
Prescott Valley-Prescott 96.2
Services
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 92.8
Prescott Valley-Prescott 91.5
Rents
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 151.3
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
111.1
Cost Index
Prescott Valley-Prescott
98.3
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and Prescott Valley-Prescott share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 6.1 to 12.9 RPP points. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 23.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (29.1 to 52.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue RPP | Prescott Valley-Prescott RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 109.1 | 103.0 | 6.1 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2012 | 105.3 | 96.5 | 8.8 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2016 | 110.2 | 98.6 | 11.5 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2020 | 113.0 | 93.2 | 19.8 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue higher |
| 2024 | 111.1 | 98.3 | 12.9 points Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Prescott Valley-Prescott more expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue?
Prescott Valley-Prescott is 11.6% less expensive than Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 111.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott equals $100K in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue?
A $100,000 salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue has the same purchasing power as $88,412 in Prescott Valley-Prescott. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and Prescott Valley-Prescott?
Rents in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue are indexed at 151.3 while Prescott Valley-Prescott is at 98.8 (national average = 100). Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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.