Overall
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 87.1
- Sioux City
- 86.5
Diff -0.6 RPP
Waterloo-Cedar Falls vs Sioux City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Sioux City is 0.7% less expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
0.7% less expensive
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD is 0.7% less expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 86.5 vs 87.1). A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls buys about the same as $99,307 in Sioux City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls) vs 86.5 (Sioux City)
- $100k in Waterloo-Cedar Falls ≈ $99,307 purchasing power in Sioux City
- Rents drives the gap (-5.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:IA 87.1→86.5
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · IA
- 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
Sioux City
86.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA and Sioux City, IA-NE-SD are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Sioux City is 5.3 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 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls corresponds to $99,307 in Sioux City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 93.7
- Sioux City
- 94.0
Diff +0.3 RPP
Services
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 83.7
- Sioux City
- 82.7
Diff -0.9 RPP
Rents
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 63.1
- Sioux City
- 57.8
Diff -5.3 RPP
| Category | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Sioux City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.1 | 86.5 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 94.0 | +0.3 |
| Services | 83.7 | 82.7 | -0.9 |
| Rents | 63.1 | 57.8 | -5.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 87.1
Sioux City 86.5
Goods
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 93.7
Sioux City 94.0
Services
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 83.7
Sioux City 82.7
Rents
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 63.1
Sioux City 57.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls would need to be in Sioux City for the same purchasing power:
| In Waterloo-Cedar Falls | In Sioux City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,654 | $-346 |
| $75,000 | $74,481 | $-519 |
| $100,000 | $99,307 | $-693 |
| $150,000 | $148,961 | $-1,039 |
$ in Waterloo-Cedar Falls = in Sioux City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.1 → 86.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sioux City more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
Sioux City is 0.7% less expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls. The overall cost index is 86.5 vs 87.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Sioux City equals $100K in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls has the same purchasing power as $99,307 in Sioux City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Sioux City?
Rents in Waterloo-Cedar Falls are indexed at 63.1 while Sioux City is at 57.8 (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.