Overall
- Walla Walla
- 98.5
- Sioux Falls
- 90.6
Diff -7.9 RPP
Walla Walla vs Sioux Falls
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Sioux Falls is 8% less expensive than Walla Walla.
8% less expensive
Sioux Falls, SD-MN is 8% less expensive than Walla Walla, WA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.6 vs 98.5). A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla buys about the same as $91,993 in Sioux Falls; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.5 (Walla Walla) vs 90.6 (Sioux Falls)
- $100k in Walla Walla ≈ $91,993 purchasing power in Sioux Falls
- Services drives the gap (-13.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair WA:SD 98.5→90.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE WA × SD
- 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.
Sioux Falls, SD-MN is 8% less expensive than Walla Walla, WA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.9-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Sioux Falls 13.6 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 $91,993 in Sioux Falls, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Walla Walla and Sioux Falls share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 1.2 to 7.9 RPP points. Walla Walla remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 28.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (15.1 to 13.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Walla Walla RPP | Sioux Falls RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.6 | 94.4 | 1.2 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2012 | 95.1 | 94.1 | 1.0 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2016 | 96.3 | 93.5 | 2.9 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2020 | 95.2 | 93.8 | 1.4 points Walla Walla higher |
| 2024 | 98.5 | 90.6 | 7.9 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
- Sioux Falls
- 95.5
Diff -9.6 RPP
Services
- Walla Walla
- 94.3
- Sioux Falls
- 80.7
Diff -13.6 RPP
Rents
- Walla Walla
- 86.6
- Sioux Falls
- 77.6
Diff -9.0 RPP
| Category | Walla Walla | Sioux Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.5 | 90.6 | -7.9 |
| Goods | 105.0 | 95.5 | -9.6 |
| Services | 94.3 | 80.7 | -13.6 |
| Rents | 86.6 | 77.6 | -9.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Walla Walla 98.5
Sioux Falls 90.6
Goods
Walla Walla 105.0
Sioux Falls 95.5
Services
Walla Walla 94.3
Sioux Falls 80.7
Rents
Walla Walla 86.6
Sioux Falls 77.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Walla Walla would need to be in Sioux Falls for the same purchasing power:
| In Walla Walla | In Sioux Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $45,997 | $-4,003 |
| $75,000 | $68,995 | $-6,005 |
| $100,000 | $91,993 | $-8,007 |
| $150,000 | $137,990 | $-12,010 |
$ in Walla Walla = in Sioux Falls
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.5 → 90.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Walla Walla
98.5
Cost Index
Sioux Falls
90.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sioux Falls more expensive than Walla Walla?
Sioux Falls is 8% less expensive than Walla Walla. The overall cost index is 90.6 vs 98.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Sioux Falls equals $100K in Walla Walla?
A $100,000 salary in Walla Walla has the same purchasing power as $91,993 in Sioux Falls. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Walla Walla and Sioux Falls?
Rents in Walla Walla are indexed at 86.6 while Sioux Falls is at 77.6 (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.