Overall
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
Diff +0.1 RPP
Walla Walla vs Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 0.1% more expensive than Walla Walla.
0.1% more expensive
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is 0.1% more expensive than Walla Walla, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.6 vs 98.5). A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla buys about the same as $100,112 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.5 (Walla Walla) vs 98.6 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands)
- $100k in Walla Walla ≈ $100,112 purchasing power in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
- Rents drives the gap (+17.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:TX 98.5→98.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WA × 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.
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
98.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Walla Walla, WA and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, 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: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 17.9 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 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 Walla Walla corresponds to $100,112 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
Diff -4.4 RPP
Services
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
Diff +1.0 RPP
Rents
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
Diff +17.9 RPP
| Category | Walla Walla | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.5 | 98.6 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 100.6 | -4.4 |
| Services | 94.3 | 95.3 | +1.0 |
| Rents | 86.6 | 104.5 | +17.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Walla Walla 98.5
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 98.6
Goods
Walla Walla 105.0
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 100.6
Services
Walla Walla 94.3
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 95.3
Rents
Walla Walla 86.6
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 104.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Walla Walla would need to be in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands for the same purchasing power:
| In Walla Walla | In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,056 | +$56 |
| $75,000 | $75,084 | +$84 |
| $100,000 | $100,112 | +$112 |
| $150,000 | $150,167 | +$167 |
$ in Walla Walla = in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.5 → 98.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands more expensive than Walla Walla?
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is 0.1% more expensive than Walla Walla. The overall cost index is 98.6 vs 98.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands equals $100K in Walla Walla?
A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla has the same purchasing power as $100,112 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Walla Walla and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands?
Rents in Walla Walla are indexed at 86.6 while Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is at 104.5 (national average = 100). Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.