Overall
- Salem
- 103.6
Diff +18.9 RPP
Shreveport-Bossier City vs Salem
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Salem is 22.3% more expensive than Shreveport-Bossier City.
22.3% more expensive
Salem, OR is 22.3% more expensive than Shreveport-Bossier City, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.6 vs 84.8). A $100,000 salary in Shreveport-Bossier City buys about the same as $122,277 in Salem; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 84.8 (Shreveport-Bossier City) vs 103.6 (Salem)
- $100k in Shreveport-Bossier City ≈ $122,277 purchasing power in Salem
- Rents drives the gap (+58.0 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:OR 84.8→103.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE LA × OR
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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 Shreveport-Bossier City would need to be in Salem for the same purchasing power:
| In Shreveport-Bossier City | In Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $61,138 | +$11,138 |
| $75,000 | $91,707 | +$16,707 |
| $100,000 | $122,277 | +$22,277 |
| $150,000 | $183,415 | +$33,415 |
$ in Shreveport-Bossier City = in Salem
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (84.8 → 103.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA and Salem, OR sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 18.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Salem is above 100 while Shreveport-Bossier City is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Salem 58.0 points higher than Shreveport-Bossier City. 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 Shreveport-Bossier City corresponds to $122,277 in Salem.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Salem
- 105.3
Diff +11.6 RPP
Services
- Salem
- 104.7
Diff +32.1 RPP
Rents
- Salem
- 110.3
Diff +58.0 RPP
| Category | Shreveport-Bossier City | Salem | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 84.8 | 103.6 | +18.9 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 105.3 | +11.6 |
| Services | 72.6 | 104.7 | +32.1 |
| Rents | 52.3 | 110.3 | +58.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Shreveport-Bossier City 84.8
Salem 103.6
Goods
Shreveport-Bossier City 93.7
Salem 105.3
Services
Shreveport-Bossier City 72.6
Salem 104.7
Rents
Shreveport-Bossier City 52.3
Salem 110.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Shreveport-Bossier City
84.8
Cost Index
Salem
103.6
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Shreveport-Bossier City and Salem share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 3.2 to 18.9 RPP points. Salem remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 40.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (17.9 to 58.0 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Shreveport-Bossier City RPP | Salem RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 90.9 | 94.1 | 3.2 points Salem higher |
| 2012 | 93.4 | 101.1 | 7.6 points Salem higher |
| 2016 | 92.8 | 97.1 | 4.4 points Salem higher |
| 2020 | 88.9 | 100.9 | 12.1 points Salem higher |
| 2024 | 84.8 | 103.6 | 18.9 points Salem 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 Salem more expensive than Shreveport-Bossier City?
Salem is 22.3% more expensive than Shreveport-Bossier City. The overall cost index is 103.6 vs 84.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Salem equals $100K in Shreveport-Bossier City?
A $100,000 salary in Shreveport-Bossier City has the same purchasing power as $122,277 in Salem. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Shreveport-Bossier City and Salem?
Rents in Shreveport-Bossier City are indexed at 52.3 while Salem is at 110.3 (national average = 100). Salem 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.