Overall
91.0
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Bismarck, ND
Cost-of-living indicators for Bismarck, ND, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 91.0
- Overall RPP
- #268
- of 387 metros
- 84.0
- Rents RPP
- $110K
- $100K national buys
Bismarck ranks #268 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Spartanburg
The verdict
Bismarck costs less than 69% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 91.0, 9.0% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 75.0.
- bottom 31%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 95.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 75.0
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $109,861 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $91,024.
Service-cost relief profile
How Bismarck's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Bismarck: their index is 75.0, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 91.0 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lincoln, NE, Omaha, NE-IA, Knoxville, TN. They resemble Bismarck across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Bismarck's overall index has stayed within 1.0 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Bismarck vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
91 Bottom 31% higher than 31% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Bismarck cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
84 RPP
- Services
Services
75 RPP
- Overall
Overall
91 RPP
- Goods
Goods
95.7 RPP
What this shows Bismarck's strongest departure is services at 75.0; rents follows at 84.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Bismarck's cost comes from
Metros near Bismarck's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Bismarck (Bismarck, this metro): goods RPP 95.7, rents RPP 84
- Spartanburg: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 68
- Mankato: goods RPP 95.4, rents RPP 79.9
- College Station: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 75.1
- Erie: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 56.8
- Clarksville: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 73.8
- Staunton: goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 68.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
95.7
Below avg
Services
75.0
Cheap
Rents
84.0
Cheap
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.0 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2012, when the index jumped 5.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Bismarck overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 90.0 |
| 2009 | 92.0 |
| 2010 | 88.7 |
| 2011 | 89.6 |
| 2012 | 95.2 |
| 2013 | 95.9 |
| 2014 | 96.8 |
| 2015 | 93.6 |
| 2016 | 96.0 |
| 2017 | 91.1 |
| 2018 | 91.4 |
| 2019 | 94.2 |
| 2020 | 92.6 |
| 2021 | 94.1 |
| 2022 | 91.1 |
| 2023 | 89.4 |
| 2024 | 91.0 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Bismarck's overall RPP rose +1.7 points, from 89.4 in 2023 to 91.0 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 75.7 to 84.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$91,024
in Bismarck, ND purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$45,512
$75,000 nationally
$68,268
$125,000 nationally
$113,780
$150,000 nationally
$136,536
$200,000 nationally
$182,048
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
43/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
43rd percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Bismarck's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Lincoln, NE
Goods 94.1 · Services 76.8 · Rents 84.2 Omaha, NE-IA
Goods 94.1 · Services 76.4 · Rents 86.4 Knoxville, TN
Goods 96.2 · Services 71.9 · Rents 82.8 Fargo, ND-MN
Goods 95.7 · Services 77.3 · Rents 81.1 Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
Goods 93.7 · Services 71.7 · Rents 85.4 Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.1 · Rents 79.8
ND-relative analysis
Services prices places Bismarck, ND toward the bottom of ND's metros
Among the 4 ND metros PlainCost tracks with reported services prices data, Bismarck, ND ranks #3 - the 25th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Bismarck, ND only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 4
50th percentile in ND
Services prices
#3 of 4
25th percentile in ND
Rent prices
#1 of 4
75th percentile in ND
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within ND only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Bismarck, ND: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (91.0 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (84.0 here).
Other ND Metros
View all ND metros → Cheapest in ND → Most expensive in ND →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Bismarck, ND's index of 91.0.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Bismarck
How to read Bismarck's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $109,861 in Bismarck. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 75.0, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Bismarck head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Bismarck, ND?
Bismarck, ND has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 91.0, meaning it is 9.0% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 95.7, services at 75.0, and rents at 84.0. It ranks #268 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Bismarck, ND to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $91,024 in Bismarck, ND. Conversely, $100K earned in Bismarck, ND has the purchasing power of $109,861 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Bismarck, ND?
Rents in Bismarck, ND are indexed at 84.0, which is 16.0% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Bismarck, ND getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Bismarck, ND's overall cost index changed by +1.0 points (from 90.0 to 91.0). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Bismarck, ND?
The priciest category in Bismarck, ND is goods at 95.7, 4.3% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 75.0, 25.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Bismarck, ND?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Spartanburg, Mankato, College Station-Bryan. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Bismarck, ND's 91.0.
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.