Overall
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
- Madison
- 97.3
Diff -1.2 RPP
Walla Walla vs Madison
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Madison is 1.3% less expensive than Walla Walla.
1.3% less expensive
Madison, WI is 1.3% less expensive than Walla Walla, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 97.3 vs 98.5). A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla buys about the same as $98,749 in Madison; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.5 (Walla Walla) vs 97.3 (Madison)
- $100k in Walla Walla ≈ $98,749 purchasing power in Madison
- Rents drives the gap (+13.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:WI 98.5→97.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE WA × WI
- 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
Madison
97.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Walla Walla, WA and Madison, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Madison is 13.2 points higher. 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 Walla Walla corresponds to $98,749 in Madison.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Walla Walla
- 105.0
- Madison
- 93.8
Diff -11.2 RPP
Services
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
- Madison
- 89.8
Diff -4.5 RPP
Rents
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
- Madison
- 99.7
Diff +13.2 RPP
| Category | Walla Walla | Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.5 | 97.3 | -1.2 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 93.8 | -11.2 |
| Services | 94.3 | 89.8 | -4.5 |
| Rents | 86.6 | 99.7 | +13.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Walla Walla 98.5
Madison 97.3
Goods
Walla Walla 105.0
Madison 93.8
Services
Walla Walla 94.3
Madison 89.8
Rents
Walla Walla 86.6
Madison 99.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Walla Walla and Madison share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 2.5 to 1.2 RPP points. Walla Walla remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 36.5 points between the first and latest shared releases (32.1 to 4.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Walla Walla RPP | Madison RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.6 | 98.1 | 2.5 points Madison higher |
| 2012 | 95.1 | 97.4 | 2.2 points Madison higher |
| 2016 | 96.3 | 95.9 | 0.4 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2020 | 95.2 | 95.9 | 0.7 points Madison higher |
| 2024 | 98.5 | 97.3 | 1.2 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Walla Walla would need to be in Madison for the same purchasing power:
| In Walla Walla | In Madison | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,375 | $-625 |
| $75,000 | $74,062 | $-938 |
| $100,000 | $98,749 | $-1,251 |
| $150,000 | $148,124 | $-1,876 |
$ in Walla Walla = in Madison
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.5 → 97.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Madison more expensive than Walla Walla?
Madison is 1.3% less expensive than Walla Walla. The overall cost index is 97.3 vs 98.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Madison equals $100K in Walla Walla?
A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla has the same purchasing power as $98,749 in Madison. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Walla Walla and Madison?
Rents in Walla Walla are indexed at 86.6 while Madison is at 99.7 (national average = 100). Madison 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.