Overall
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 87.1
- Grand Forks
- 86.7
Diff -0.4 RPP
Waterloo-Cedar Falls vs Grand Forks
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Grand Forks is 0.5% less expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
0.5% less expensive
Grand Forks, ND-MN is 0.5% less expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.7 vs 87.1). A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls buys about the same as $99,547 in Grand Forks; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls) vs 86.7 (Grand Forks)
- $100k in Waterloo-Cedar Falls ≈ $99,547 purchasing power in Grand Forks
- Services drives the gap (-6.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:ND 87.1→86.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × ND
- 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.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls
87.1
Cost Index
Grand Forks
86.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA and Grand Forks, ND-MN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Grand Forks is 6.6 points lower. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls to $99,547 in Grand Forks, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 93.7
- Grand Forks
- 95.6
Diff +1.9 RPP
Services
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 83.7
- Grand Forks
- 77.1
Diff -6.6 RPP
Rents
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 63.1
- Grand Forks
- 59.7
Diff -3.5 RPP
| Category | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Grand Forks | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.1 | 86.7 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 95.6 | +1.9 |
| Services | 83.7 | 77.1 | -6.6 |
| Rents | 63.1 | 59.7 | -3.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 87.1
Grand Forks 86.7
Goods
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 93.7
Grand Forks 95.6
Services
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 83.7
Grand Forks 77.1
Rents
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 63.1
Grand Forks 59.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls would need to be in Grand Forks for the same purchasing power:
| In Waterloo-Cedar Falls | In Grand Forks | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,774 | $-226 |
| $75,000 | $74,661 | $-339 |
| $100,000 | $99,547 | $-453 |
| $150,000 | $149,321 | $-679 |
$ in Waterloo-Cedar Falls = in Grand Forks
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.1 → 86.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grand Forks more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
Grand Forks is 0.5% less expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls. The overall cost index is 86.7 vs 87.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Grand Forks equals $100K in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls has the same purchasing power as $99,547 in Grand Forks. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Grand Forks?
Rents in Waterloo-Cedar Falls are indexed at 63.1 while Grand Forks is at 59.7 (national average = 100). Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.