Overall
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
- Chattanooga
- 91.5
Diff -7.1 RPP
Walla Walla vs Chattanooga
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Chattanooga is 7.2% less expensive than Walla Walla.
7.2% less expensive
Chattanooga, TN-GA is 7.2% less expensive than Walla Walla, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.5 vs 98.5). A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla buys about the same as $92,839 in Chattanooga; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.5 (Walla Walla) vs 91.5 (Chattanooga)
- $100k in Walla Walla ≈ $92,839 purchasing power in Chattanooga
- Services drives the gap (-20.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:TN 98.5→91.5
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × TN
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Chattanooga, TN-GA is 7.2% less expensive than Walla Walla, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.1-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Chattanooga 20.1 points lower than Walla Walla. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Walla Walla to $92,839 in Chattanooga, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Walla Walla and Chattanooga share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 3.4 to 7.1 RPP points. Walla Walla remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 35.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (15.6 to 20.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Walla Walla RPP | Chattanooga RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.6 | 92.2 | 3.4 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2012 | 95.1 | 94.4 | 0.7 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2016 | 96.3 | 93.8 | 2.5 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2020 | 95.2 | 90.1 | 5.1 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2024 | 98.5 | 91.5 | 7.1 points Walla Walla 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
- Chattanooga
- 96.0
Diff -9.0 RPP
Services
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
- Chattanooga
- 74.2
Diff -20.1 RPP
Rents
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
- Chattanooga
- 76.5
Diff -10.0 RPP
| Category | Walla Walla | Chattanooga | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.5 | 91.5 | -7.1 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 96.0 | -9.0 |
| Services | 94.3 | 74.2 | -20.1 |
| Rents | 86.6 | 76.5 | -10.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Walla Walla 98.5
Chattanooga 91.5
Goods
Walla Walla 105.0
Chattanooga 96.0
Services
Walla Walla 94.3
Chattanooga 74.2
Rents
Walla Walla 86.6
Chattanooga 76.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Walla Walla would need to be in Chattanooga for the same purchasing power:
| In Walla Walla | In Chattanooga | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,419 | $-3,581 |
| $75,000 | $69,629 | $-5,371 |
| $100,000 | $92,839 | $-7,161 |
| $150,000 | $139,258 | $-10,742 |
$ in Walla Walla = in Chattanooga
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.5 → 91.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
Chattanooga
91.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chattanooga more expensive than Walla Walla?
Chattanooga is 7.2% less expensive than Walla Walla. The overall cost index is 91.5 vs 98.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Chattanooga equals $100K in Walla Walla?
A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla has the same purchasing power as $92,839 in Chattanooga. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Walla Walla and Chattanooga?
Rents in Walla Walla are indexed at 86.6 while Chattanooga is at 76.5 (national average = 100). Walla Walla 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.