Overall
- St. Cloud
- 87.6
- Youngstown-Warren
- 87.4
Diff -0.2 RPP
St. Cloud vs Youngstown-Warren
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Youngstown-Warren is 0.3% less expensive than St. Cloud.
0.3% less expensive
Youngstown-Warren, OH is 0.3% less expensive than St. Cloud, MN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.4 vs 87.6). A $100,000 salary in St. Cloud buys about the same as $99,728 in Youngstown-Warren; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.6 (St. Cloud) vs 87.4 (Youngstown-Warren)
- $100k in St. Cloud ≈ $99,728 purchasing power in Youngstown-Warren
- Rents drives the gap (-11.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MN:OH 87.6→87.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MN × OH
- 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.
St. Cloud
87.6
Cost Index
Youngstown-Warren
87.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
St. Cloud, MN and Youngstown-Warren, OH 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: Youngstown-Warren is 11.6 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 St. Cloud corresponds to $99,728 in Youngstown-Warren.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- St. Cloud
- 95.4
- Youngstown-Warren
- 93.6
Diff -1.8 RPP
Services
- St. Cloud
- 88.7
- Youngstown-Warren
- 96.3
Diff +7.6 RPP
Rents
- St. Cloud
- 65.1
- Youngstown-Warren
- 53.4
Diff -11.6 RPP
| Category | St. Cloud | Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.6 | 87.4 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 95.4 | 93.6 | -1.8 |
| Services | 88.7 | 96.3 | +7.6 |
| Rents | 65.1 | 53.4 | -11.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
St. Cloud 87.6
Youngstown-Warren 87.4
Goods
St. Cloud 95.4
Youngstown-Warren 93.6
Services
St. Cloud 88.7
Youngstown-Warren 96.3
Rents
St. Cloud 65.1
Youngstown-Warren 53.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in St. Cloud would need to be in Youngstown-Warren for the same purchasing power:
| In St. Cloud | In Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,864 | $-136 |
| $75,000 | $74,796 | $-204 |
| $100,000 | $99,728 | $-272 |
| $150,000 | $149,593 | $-407 |
$ in St. Cloud = in Youngstown-Warren
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.6 → 87.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Youngstown-Warren more expensive than St. Cloud?
Youngstown-Warren is 0.3% less expensive than St. Cloud. The overall cost index is 87.4 vs 87.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Youngstown-Warren equals $100K in St. Cloud?
A $100,000 salary in St. Cloud has the same purchasing power as $99,728 in Youngstown-Warren. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between St. Cloud and Youngstown-Warren?
Rents in St. Cloud are indexed at 65.1 while Youngstown-Warren is at 53.4 (national average = 100). St. Cloud 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.