Overall
- Tuscaloosa
- 87.7
- Dubuque
- 87.3
Diff -0.4 RPP
Tuscaloosa vs Dubuque
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Dubuque is 0.4% less expensive than Tuscaloosa.
0.4% less expensive
Dubuque, IA is 0.4% less expensive than Tuscaloosa, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.3 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa buys about the same as $99,551 in Dubuque; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Tuscaloosa) vs 87.3 (Dubuque)
- $100k in Tuscaloosa ≈ $99,551 purchasing power in Dubuque
- Rents drives the gap (+5.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:IA 87.7→87.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × IA
- 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.
Tuscaloosa
87.7
Cost Index
Dubuque
87.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Tuscaloosa, AL and Dubuque, IA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Dubuque is 5.8 points higher. 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 Tuscaloosa corresponds to $99,551 in Dubuque.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Tuscaloosa
- 96.4
- Dubuque
- 93.7
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
- Tuscaloosa
- 84.4
- Dubuque
- 81.2
Diff -3.2 RPP
Rents
- Tuscaloosa
- 58.2
- Dubuque
- 64.0
Diff +5.8 RPP
| Category | Tuscaloosa | Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 87.3 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 93.7 | -2.7 |
| Services | 84.4 | 81.2 | -3.2 |
| Rents | 58.2 | 64.0 | +5.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Tuscaloosa 87.7
Dubuque 87.3
Goods
Tuscaloosa 96.4
Dubuque 93.7
Services
Tuscaloosa 84.4
Dubuque 81.2
Rents
Tuscaloosa 58.2
Dubuque 64.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Tuscaloosa would need to be in Dubuque for the same purchasing power:
| In Tuscaloosa | In Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,775 | $-225 |
| $75,000 | $74,663 | $-337 |
| $100,000 | $99,551 | $-449 |
| $150,000 | $149,326 | $-674 |
$ in Tuscaloosa = in Dubuque
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 87.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubuque more expensive than Tuscaloosa?
Dubuque is 0.4% less expensive than Tuscaloosa. The overall cost index is 87.3 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Dubuque equals $100K in Tuscaloosa?
A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa has the same purchasing power as $99,551 in Dubuque. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Tuscaloosa and Dubuque?
Rents in Tuscaloosa are indexed at 58.2 while Dubuque is at 64.0 (national average = 100). Dubuque 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.