Overall
- Twin Falls
- 92.1
- Waco
- 92.5
Diff +0.4 RPP
Twin Falls vs Waco
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Waco is 0.5% more expensive than Twin Falls.
0.5% more expensive
Waco, TX is 0.5% more expensive than Twin Falls, ID * on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.5 vs 92.1). A $100,000 salary in Twin Falls buys about the same as $100,480 in Waco; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.1 (Twin Falls) vs 92.5 (Waco)
- $100k in Twin Falls ≈ $100,480 purchasing power in Waco
- Services drives the gap (+10.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ID:TX 92.1→92.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ID × TX
- 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.
Twin Falls
92.1
Cost Index
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Twin Falls, ID * and Waco, TX 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Waco is 10.9 points higher. 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 Twin Falls to $100,480 in Waco, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Twin Falls
- 96.2
- Waco
- 93.8
Diff -2.4 RPP
Services
- Twin Falls
- 70.0
- Waco
- 81.0
Diff +10.9 RPP
Rents
- Twin Falls
- 73.8
- Waco
- 83.5
Diff +9.7 RPP
| Category | Twin Falls | Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.1 | 92.5 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.8 | -2.4 |
| Services | 70.0 | 81.0 | +10.9 |
| Rents | 73.8 | 83.5 | +9.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Twin Falls 92.1
Waco 92.5
Goods
Twin Falls 96.2
Waco 93.8
Services
Twin Falls 70.0
Waco 81.0
Rents
Twin Falls 73.8
Waco 83.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Twin Falls and Waco share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 93.5 to 0.4 RPP points. Waco remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 99.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (96.6 to 2.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Twin Falls RPP | Waco RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.0 | 93.5 | 93.5 points Waco higher |
| 2012 | 0.0 | 94.7 | 94.7 points Waco higher |
| 2016 | 94.1 | 94.2 | 0.1 points Waco higher |
| 2020 | 88.0 | 93.4 | 5.4 points Waco higher |
| 2024 | 92.1 | 92.5 | 0.4 points Waco 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 Twin Falls would need to be in Waco for the same purchasing power:
| In Twin Falls | In Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,240 | +$240 |
| $75,000 | $75,360 | +$360 |
| $100,000 | $100,480 | +$480 |
| $150,000 | $150,720 | +$720 |
$ in Twin Falls = in Waco
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.1 → 92.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Waco more expensive than Twin Falls?
Waco is 0.5% more expensive than Twin Falls. The overall cost index is 92.5 vs 92.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Waco equals $100K in Twin Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Twin Falls has the same purchasing power as $100,480 in Waco. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Twin Falls and Waco?
Rents in Twin Falls are indexed at 73.8 while Waco is at 83.5 (national average = 100). Waco 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.