Overall
- Winston-Salem
- 92.0
- Waco
- 92.5
Diff +0.5 RPP
Winston-Salem vs Waco
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Waco is 0.6% more expensive than Winston-Salem.
0.6% more expensive
Waco, TX is 0.6% more expensive than Winston-Salem, NC on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.5 vs 92.0). A $100,000 salary in Winston-Salem buys about the same as $100,551 in Waco; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.0 (Winston-Salem) vs 92.5 (Waco)
- $100k in Winston-Salem ≈ $100,551 purchasing power in Waco
- Rents drives the gap (+12.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NC:TX 92.0→92.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NC × TX
- 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.
Winston-Salem
92.0
Cost Index
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Winston-Salem, NC and Waco, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Waco is 12.2 points higher. But services 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 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 Winston-Salem corresponds to $100,551 in Waco.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Winston-Salem
- 96.6
- Waco
- 93.8
Diff -2.9 RPP
Services
- Winston-Salem
- 88.4
- Waco
- 81.0
Diff -7.5 RPP
Rents
- Winston-Salem
- 71.4
- Waco
- 83.5
Diff +12.2 RPP
| Category | Winston-Salem | Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.0 | 92.5 | +0.5 |
| Goods | 96.6 | 93.8 | -2.9 |
| Services | 88.4 | 81.0 | -7.5 |
| Rents | 71.4 | 83.5 | +12.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Winston-Salem 92.0
Waco 92.5
Goods
Winston-Salem 96.6
Waco 93.8
Services
Winston-Salem 88.4
Waco 81.0
Rents
Winston-Salem 71.4
Waco 83.5
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Winston-Salem and Waco share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.6 to 0.5 RPP points. Waco remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 19.1 points between the first and latest shared releases (11.6 to 7.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Winston-Salem RPP | Waco RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 91.9 | 93.5 | 1.6 points Waco higher |
| 2012 | 92.6 | 94.7 | 2.1 points Waco higher |
| 2016 | 93.1 | 94.2 | 1.1 points Waco higher |
| 2020 | 89.5 | 93.4 | 3.9 points Waco higher |
| 2024 | 92.0 | 92.5 | 0.5 points Waco higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Winston-Salem would need to be in Waco for the same purchasing power:
| In Winston-Salem | In Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,275 | +$275 |
| $75,000 | $75,413 | +$413 |
| $100,000 | $100,551 | +$551 |
| $150,000 | $150,826 | +$826 |
$ in Winston-Salem = in Waco
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.0 → 92.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Waco more expensive than Winston-Salem?
Waco is 0.6% more expensive than Winston-Salem. The overall cost index is 92.5 vs 92.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Waco equals $100K in Winston-Salem?
A $100,000 salary in Winston-Salem has the same purchasing power as $100,551 in Waco. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Winston-Salem and Waco?
Rents in Winston-Salem are indexed at 71.4 while Waco is at 83.5 (national average = 100). Waco 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.