Overall
Diff -2.4 RPP
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria vs Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is 2.2% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.
2.2% less expensive
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA is 2.2% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 106.4 vs 108.9). A $100,000 salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria buys about the same as $97,757 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 108.9 (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria) vs 106.4 (Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario)
- $100k in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria ≈ $97,757 purchasing power in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
- Services drives the gap (+41.9 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair DC:CA 108.9→106.4
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE DC × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -3.4 RPP
Services
Diff +41.9 RPP
Rents
Diff -21.8 RPP
| Category | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 108.9 | 106.4 | -2.4 |
| Goods | 104.8 | 101.4 | -3.4 |
| Services | 106.7 | 148.6 | +41.9 |
| Rents | 151.1 | 129.3 | -21.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 108.9
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 106.4
Goods
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 104.8
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 101.4
Services
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 106.7
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 148.6
Rents
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 151.1
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 129.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is 41.9 points higher. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA is 2.2% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.4-point overall gap.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria to $97,757 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
108.9
Cost Index
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
106.4
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria would need to be in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario for the same purchasing power:
| In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | In Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,879 | $-1,121 |
| $75,000 | $73,318 | $-1,682 |
| $100,000 | $97,757 | $-2,243 |
| $150,000 | $146,636 | $-3,364 |
$ in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria = in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (108.9 → 106.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario more expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is 2.2% less expensive than Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. The overall cost index is 106.4 vs 108.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario equals $100K in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
A $100,000 salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria has the same purchasing power as $97,757 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?
Rents in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria are indexed at 151.1 while Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is at 129.3 (national average = 100). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.