Overall
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 87.1
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 87.7
Diff +0.6 RPP
Waterloo-Cedar Falls vs Watertown-Fort Drum
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Watertown-Fort Drum is 0.7% more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
0.7% more expensive
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY is 0.7% more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.7 vs 87.1). A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls buys about the same as $100,727 in Watertown-Fort Drum; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls) vs 87.7 (Watertown-Fort Drum)
- $100k in Waterloo-Cedar Falls ≈ $100,727 purchasing power in Watertown-Fort Drum
- Services drives the gap (+48.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:NY 87.1→87.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × NY
- 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
Watertown-Fort Drum
87.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA and Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 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.
Services creates the largest separation: Watertown-Fort Drum is 48.5 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 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 $100,727 in Watertown-Fort Drum, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 93.7
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 99.7
Diff +6.0 RPP
Services
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 83.7
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 132.2
Diff +48.5 RPP
Rents
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 63.1
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 53.2
Diff -9.9 RPP
| Category | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Watertown-Fort Drum | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.1 | 87.7 | +0.6 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 99.7 | +6.0 |
| Services | 83.7 | 132.2 | +48.5 |
| Rents | 63.1 | 53.2 | -9.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 87.1
Watertown-Fort Drum 87.7
Goods
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 93.7
Watertown-Fort Drum 99.7
Services
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 83.7
Watertown-Fort Drum 132.2
Rents
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 63.1
Watertown-Fort Drum 53.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls would need to be in Watertown-Fort Drum for the same purchasing power:
| In Waterloo-Cedar Falls | In Watertown-Fort Drum | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,364 | +$364 |
| $75,000 | $75,545 | +$545 |
| $100,000 | $100,727 | +$727 |
| $150,000 | $151,091 | +$1,091 |
$ in Waterloo-Cedar Falls = in Watertown-Fort Drum
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.1 → 87.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Watertown-Fort Drum more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
Watertown-Fort Drum is 0.7% more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls. The overall cost index is 87.7 vs 87.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Watertown-Fort Drum equals $100K in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls has the same purchasing power as $100,727 in Watertown-Fort Drum. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Watertown-Fort Drum?
Rents in Waterloo-Cedar Falls are indexed at 63.1 while Watertown-Fort Drum is at 53.2 (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.