Overall
- Waco
- 92.5
- San Angelo
- 92.5
Diff -0.1 RPP
Waco vs San Angelo
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. San Angelo is 0.1% less expensive than Waco.
0.1% less expensive
San Angelo, TX is 0.1% less expensive than Waco, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.5 vs 92.5). A $100,000 salary in Waco buys about the same as $99,895 in San Angelo; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.5 (Waco) vs 92.5 (San Angelo)
- $100k in Waco ≈ $99,895 purchasing power in San Angelo
- Rents drives the gap (-2.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:TX 92.5→92.5
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · 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.
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
San Angelo
92.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waco, TX and San Angelo, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: San Angelo is 2.1 points lower. But services and 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 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 $99,895 in San Angelo.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waco
- 93.8
- San Angelo
- 93.8
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Waco
- 81.0
- San Angelo
- 81.6
Diff +0.6 RPP
Rents
- Waco
- 83.5
- San Angelo
- 81.4
Diff -2.1 RPP
| Category | Waco | San Angelo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.5 | 92.5 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 | 0.0 |
| Services | 81.0 | 81.6 | +0.6 |
| Rents | 83.5 | 81.4 | -2.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waco 92.5
San Angelo 92.5
Goods
Waco 93.8
San Angelo 93.8
Services
Waco 81.0
San Angelo 81.6
Rents
Waco 83.5
San Angelo 81.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Waco and San Angelo share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.9 to 0.1 RPP points. Waco remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 8.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (10.3 to 2.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Waco RPP | San Angelo RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.5 | 91.6 | 1.9 points Waco higher |
| 2012 | 94.7 | 96.1 | 1.4 points San Angelo higher |
| 2016 | 94.2 | 96.4 | 2.2 points San Angelo higher |
| 2020 | 93.4 | 95.1 | 1.7 points San Angelo higher |
| 2024 | 92.5 | 92.5 | 0.1 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 Waco would need to be in San Angelo for the same purchasing power:
| In Waco | In San Angelo | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,948 | $-52 |
| $75,000 | $74,921 | $-79 |
| $100,000 | $99,895 | $-105 |
| $150,000 | $149,843 | $-157 |
$ in Waco = in San Angelo
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.5 → 92.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is San Angelo more expensive than Waco?
San Angelo is 0.1% less expensive than Waco. The overall cost index is 92.5 vs 92.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in San Angelo equals $100K in Waco?
A $100,000 salary in Waco has the same purchasing power as $99,895 in San Angelo. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waco and San Angelo?
Rents in Waco are indexed at 83.5 while San Angelo is at 81.4 (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.