Overall
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 92.9
- Wausau
- 92.7
Diff -0.2 RPP
South Bend-Mishawaka vs Wausau
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wausau is 0.2% less expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka.
0.2% less expensive
Wausau, WI is 0.2% less expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.9). A $100,000 salary in South Bend-Mishawaka buys about the same as $99,777 in Wausau; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.9 (South Bend-Mishawaka) vs 92.7 (Wausau)
- $100k in South Bend-Mishawaka ≈ $99,777 purchasing power in Wausau
- Rents drives the gap (-3.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IN:WI 92.9→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IN × 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.
South Bend-Mishawaka
92.9
Cost Index
Wausau
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI and Wausau, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Wausau is 3.1 points lower. But 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 South Bend-Mishawaka corresponds to $99,777 in Wausau.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 94.2
- Wausau
- 93.8
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 87.7
- Wausau
- 90.0
Diff +2.2 RPP
Rents
- South Bend-Mishawaka
- 74.6
- Wausau
- 71.5
Diff -3.1 RPP
| Category | South Bend-Mishawaka | Wausau | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.9 | 92.7 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 93.8 | -0.4 |
| Services | 87.7 | 90.0 | +2.2 |
| Rents | 74.6 | 71.5 | -3.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
South Bend-Mishawaka 92.9
Wausau 92.7
Goods
South Bend-Mishawaka 94.2
Wausau 93.8
Services
South Bend-Mishawaka 87.7
Wausau 90.0
Rents
South Bend-Mishawaka 74.6
Wausau 71.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
South Bend-Mishawaka and Wausau share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.3 to 0.2 RPP points. South Bend-Mishawaka remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 9.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (11.2 to 2.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | South Bend-Mishawaka RPP | Wausau RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.4 | 94.8 | 2.3 points Wausau higher |
| 2012 | 90.4 | 94.1 | 3.6 points Wausau higher |
| 2016 | 91.4 | 92.0 | 0.6 points Wausau higher |
| 2020 | 91.5 | 90.2 | 1.4 points South Bend-Mishawaka higher |
| 2024 | 92.9 | 92.7 | 0.2 points South Bend-Mishawaka 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 South Bend-Mishawaka would need to be in Wausau for the same purchasing power:
| In South Bend-Mishawaka | In Wausau | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,889 | $-111 |
| $75,000 | $74,833 | $-167 |
| $100,000 | $99,777 | $-223 |
| $150,000 | $149,666 | $-334 |
$ in South Bend-Mishawaka = in Wausau
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.9 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wausau more expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka?
Wausau is 0.2% less expensive than South Bend-Mishawaka. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wausau equals $100K in South Bend-Mishawaka?
A $100,000 salary in South Bend-Mishawaka has the same purchasing power as $99,777 in Wausau. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between South Bend-Mishawaka and Wausau?
Rents in South Bend-Mishawaka are indexed at 74.6 while Wausau is at 71.5 (national average = 100). South Bend-Mishawaka 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.