Overall
- Sioux City
- 86.5
- Florence
- 86.8
Diff +0.3 RPP
Sioux City vs Florence
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Florence is 0.4% more expensive than Sioux City.
0.4% more expensive
Florence, SC is 0.4% more expensive than Sioux City, IA-NE-SD on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.8 vs 86.5). A $100,000 salary in Sioux City buys about the same as $100,370 in Florence; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 86.5 (Sioux City) vs 86.8 (Florence)
- $100k in Sioux City ≈ $100,370 purchasing power in Florence
- Rents drives the gap (-5.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:SC 86.5→86.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × SC
- 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.
Sioux City
86.5
Cost Index
Florence
86.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD and Florence, SC 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.
Rents creates the largest separation: Florence is 5.4 points lower. But rents 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 Sioux City corresponds to $100,370 in Florence.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Sioux City
- 94.0
- Florence
- 96.3
Diff +2.3 RPP
Services
- Sioux City
- 82.7
- Florence
- 87.7
Diff +5.0 RPP
Rents
- Sioux City
- 57.8
- Florence
- 52.4
Diff -5.4 RPP
| Category | Sioux City | Florence | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 86.5 | 86.8 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 94.0 | 96.3 | +2.3 |
| Services | 82.7 | 87.7 | +5.0 |
| Rents | 57.8 | 52.4 | -5.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Sioux City 86.5
Florence 86.8
Goods
Sioux City 94.0
Florence 96.3
Services
Sioux City 82.7
Florence 87.7
Rents
Sioux City 57.8
Florence 52.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Sioux City would need to be in Florence for the same purchasing power:
| In Sioux City | In Florence | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,185 | +$185 |
| $75,000 | $75,278 | +$278 |
| $100,000 | $100,370 | +$370 |
| $150,000 | $150,555 | +$555 |
$ in Sioux City = in Florence
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (86.5 → 86.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Florence more expensive than Sioux City?
Florence is 0.4% more expensive than Sioux City. The overall cost index is 86.8 vs 86.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Florence equals $100K in Sioux City?
A $100,000 salary in Sioux City has the same purchasing power as $100,370 in Florence. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Sioux City and Florence?
Rents in Sioux City are indexed at 57.8 while Florence is at 52.4 (national average = 100). Sioux City 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.