Overall
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 87.1
- Youngstown-Warren
- 87.4
Diff +0.3 RPP
Waterloo-Cedar Falls vs Youngstown-Warren
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Youngstown-Warren is 0.4% more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
0.4% more expensive
Youngstown-Warren, OH is 0.4% more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.4 vs 87.1). A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls buys about the same as $100,387 in Youngstown-Warren; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls) vs 87.4 (Youngstown-Warren)
- $100k in Waterloo-Cedar Falls ≈ $100,387 purchasing power in Youngstown-Warren
- Services drives the gap (+12.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:OH 87.1→87.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × OH
- 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
Youngstown-Warren
87.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA and Youngstown-Warren, OH are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Youngstown-Warren is 12.6 points higher. But rents and 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 $100,387 in Youngstown-Warren, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 93.7
- Youngstown-Warren
- 93.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 83.7
- Youngstown-Warren
- 96.3
Diff +12.6 RPP
Rents
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls
- 63.1
- Youngstown-Warren
- 53.4
Diff -9.7 RPP
| Category | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.1 | 87.4 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Services | 83.7 | 96.3 | +12.6 |
| Rents | 63.1 | 53.4 | -9.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 87.1
Youngstown-Warren 87.4
Goods
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 93.7
Youngstown-Warren 93.6
Services
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 83.7
Youngstown-Warren 96.3
Rents
Waterloo-Cedar Falls 63.1
Youngstown-Warren 53.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls would need to be in Youngstown-Warren for the same purchasing power:
| In Waterloo-Cedar Falls | In Youngstown-Warren | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,194 | +$194 |
| $75,000 | $75,290 | +$290 |
| $100,000 | $100,387 | +$387 |
| $150,000 | $150,581 | +$581 |
$ in Waterloo-Cedar Falls = in Youngstown-Warren
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.1 → 87.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Youngstown-Warren more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
Youngstown-Warren is 0.4% more expensive than Waterloo-Cedar Falls. The overall cost index is 87.4 vs 87.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Youngstown-Warren equals $100K in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?
A $100,000 salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls has the same purchasing power as $100,387 in Youngstown-Warren. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Youngstown-Warren?
Rents in Waterloo-Cedar Falls are indexed at 63.1 while Youngstown-Warren is at 53.4 (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.