Overall
- Tuscaloosa
- 87.7
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 103.7
Diff +15.9 RPP
Tuscaloosa vs Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is 18.2% more expensive than Tuscaloosa.
18.2% more expensive
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA is 18.2% more expensive than Tuscaloosa, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 103.7 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa buys about the same as $118,180 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Tuscaloosa) vs 103.7 (Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater)
- $100k in Tuscaloosa ≈ $118,180 purchasing power in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- Rents drives the gap (+58.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:WA 87.7→103.7
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE AL × WA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Tuscaloosa would need to be in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater for the same purchasing power:
| In Tuscaloosa | In Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $59,090 | +$9,090 |
| $75,000 | $88,635 | +$13,635 |
| $100,000 | $118,180 | +$18,180 |
| $150,000 | $177,270 | +$27,270 |
$ in Tuscaloosa = in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 103.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Tuscaloosa, AL and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 15.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is above 100 while Tuscaloosa is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 58.4 points higher than Tuscaloosa. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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 $118,180 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Tuscaloosa
- 96.4
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 105.0
Diff +8.6 RPP
Services
- Tuscaloosa
- 84.4
Diff +7.3 RPP
Rents
- Tuscaloosa
- 58.2
- Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
- 116.7
Diff +58.4 RPP
| Category | Tuscaloosa | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 103.7 | +15.9 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 105.0 | +8.6 |
| Services | 84.4 | 91.7 | +7.3 |
| Rents | 58.2 | 116.7 | +58.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Tuscaloosa 87.7
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 103.7
Goods
Tuscaloosa 96.4
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 105.0
Services
Tuscaloosa 84.4
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 91.7
Rents
Tuscaloosa 58.2
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 116.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Tuscaloosa
87.7
Cost Index
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
103.7
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater more expensive than Tuscaloosa?
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is 18.2% more expensive than Tuscaloosa. The overall cost index is 103.7 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater equals $100K in Tuscaloosa?
A $100,000 salary in Tuscaloosa has the same purchasing power as $118,180 in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Tuscaloosa and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?
Rents in Tuscaloosa are indexed at 58.2 while Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is at 116.7 (national average = 100). Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater 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.