Overall
- Waco
- 92.5
Diff +0.2 RPP
Waco vs Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is 0.2% more expensive than Waco.
0.2% more expensive
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is 0.2% more expensive than Waco, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.7 vs 92.5). A $100,000 salary in Waco buys about the same as $100,173 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.5 (Waco) vs 92.7 (Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford)
- $100k in Waco ≈ $100,173 purchasing power in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
- Rents drives the gap (-9.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:VA 92.5→92.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × VA
- 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.
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
92.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waco, TX and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 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: Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is 9.2 points lower. 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 Waco corresponds to $100,173 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waco
- 93.8
Diff +3.0 RPP
Services
- Waco
- 81.0
Diff +7.1 RPP
Rents
- Waco
- 83.5
Diff -9.2 RPP
| Category | Waco | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.5 | 92.7 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.8 | +3.0 |
| Services | 81.0 | 88.1 | +7.1 |
| Rents | 83.5 | 74.4 | -9.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waco 92.5
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 92.7
Goods
Waco 93.8
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 96.8
Services
Waco 81.0
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 88.1
Rents
Waco 83.5
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 74.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Waco and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 5.6 to 0.2 RPP points. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 27.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (20.4 to 7.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Waco RPP | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.5 | 87.9 | 5.6 points Waco higher |
| 2012 | 94.7 | 88.6 | 6.2 points Waco higher |
| 2016 | 94.2 | 88.4 | 5.8 points Waco higher |
| 2020 | 93.4 | 91.0 | 2.4 points Waco higher |
| 2024 | 92.5 | 92.7 | 0.2 points Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Waco would need to be in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford for the same purchasing power:
| In Waco | In Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,086 | +$86 |
| $75,000 | $75,130 | +$130 |
| $100,000 | $100,173 | +$173 |
| $150,000 | $150,259 | +$259 |
$ in Waco = in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.5 → 92.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford more expensive than Waco?
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is 0.2% more expensive than Waco. The overall cost index is 92.7 vs 92.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford equals $100K in Waco?
A $100,000 salary in Waco has the same purchasing power as $100,173 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waco and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford?
Rents in Waco are indexed at 83.5 while Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is at 74.4 (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.