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Springfield vs Wausau

Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wausau is 0.1% less expensive than Springfield.

0.1% less expensive

Wausau, WI is 0.1% less expensive than Springfield, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.7). A $100,000 salary in Springfield buys about the same as $99,899 in Wausau; the largest component gap is services.

  • Overall RPP 92.7 (Springfield) vs 92.7 (Wausau)
  • $100k in Springfield ≈ $99,899 purchasing power in Wausau
  • Services drives the gap (-0.4 RPP points)

RPP parity plate

Pair IL:WI 92.7→92.7

PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR

  • PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
  • CROSS-STATE IL × 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.

Springfield
92.7
Cost Index
Wausau
92.7
Cost Index

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

Springfield, IL and Wausau, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.

Services creates the largest separation: Wausau is 0.4 points lower. But goods 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Springfield to $99,899 in Wausau, but it is not a personal spending weight.

Category Breakdown

Visual Comparison

Overall
Springfield
92.7
Wausau
92.7
Goods
Springfield
93.6
Wausau
93.8
Services
Springfield
90.4
Wausau
90.0
Rents
Springfield
71.6
Wausau
71.5

Vertical line = national average (100)

Salary Equivalents

What a salary in Springfield would need to be in Wausau for the same purchasing power:

In Springfield In Wausau Difference
$50,000 $49,949 $-51
$75,000 $74,924 $-76
$100,000 $99,899 $-101
$150,000 $149,848 $-152
$ in Springfield = – in Wausau

Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.7 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Reverse: Wausau → Springfield Springfield Details Wausau Details

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wausau more expensive than Springfield?

Wausau is 0.1% less expensive than Springfield. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.7 (national average = 100).

What salary in Wausau equals $100K in Springfield?

A $100,000 salary in Springfield has the same purchasing power as $99,899 in Wausau. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.

How do rents compare between Springfield and Wausau?

Rents in Springfield are indexed at 71.6 while Wausau is at 71.5 (national average = 100). Springfield has higher rents.

Data sources

Data sourced from official public datasets, Regional Price Parities (2024), index where national average = 100. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCost. See our methodology for details.

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.