Overall
91.6
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Lincoln, NE
Cost-of-living indicators for Lincoln, NE, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 91.6
- Overall RPP
- #256
- of 387 metros
- 84.2
- Rents RPP
- $109K
- $100K national buys
Lincoln ranks #256 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 3.4 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Evansville
The verdict
Lincoln costs less than 66% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 91.6, 8.4% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 76.8.
- bottom 34%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.1
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 76.8
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $109,193 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $91,581.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$91,581
in Lincoln, NE purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$45,791
$75,000 nationally
$68,686
$125,000 nationally
$114,476
$150,000 nationally
$137,372
$200,000 nationally
$183,162
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
42/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
42nd 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.
Service-cost relief profile
How Lincoln's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Lincoln: their index is 76.8, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 91.6 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Omaha, NE-IA, Bismarck, ND, Fargo, ND-MN. They resemble Lincoln 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, Lincoln's overall index has fallen by 3.4 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.
Lincoln vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
92 Bottom 34% higher than 34% 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
Lincoln cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
84.2 RPP
- Services
Services
76.8 RPP
- Overall
Overall
91.6 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.1 RPP
What this shows Lincoln's strongest departure is services at 76.8; rents follows at 84.2. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Lincoln's cost comes from
Metros near Lincoln's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Lincoln (Lincoln, this metro): goods RPP 94.1, rents RPP 84.2
- Evansville: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 66.7
- Fond du Lac: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 67.3
- Birmingham: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 71.9
- Iowa City: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 84
- Michigan City: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 68.5
- Chattanooga: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 76.6
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.1
Below avg
Services
76.8
Cheap
Rents
84.2
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Lincoln's overall RPP fell -0.3 points, from 91.9 in 2023 to 91.6 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 80.7 to 76.8. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 3.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index dropped 2.0 points from the year before.
Lincoln overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.0 |
| 2009 | 95.0 |
| 2010 | 94.9 |
| 2011 | 93.3 |
| 2012 | 93.8 |
| 2013 | 94.6 |
| 2014 | 94.7 |
| 2015 | 94.0 |
| 2016 | 93.3 |
| 2017 | 93.6 |
| 2018 | 94.4 |
| 2019 | 95.1 |
| 2020 | 95.2 |
| 2021 | 93.2 |
| 2022 | 92.0 |
| 2023 | 91.9 |
| 2024 | 91.6 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Lincoln, NE's index of 91.6.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
NE-relative analysis
Goods prices sits close to the middle of NE's metro distribution
Among the 3 NE metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Lincoln, NE ranks #1 - the 33rd percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Lincoln, NE only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 3
33rd percentile in NE
Services prices
#1 of 3
67th percentile in NE
Rent prices
#2 of 3
33rd percentile in NE
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 NE only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Lincoln, NE: 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 (91.6 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (84.2 here).
Other NE Metros
View all NE metros → Cheapest in NE → Most expensive in NE →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Lincoln'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.
Omaha, NE-IA
Goods 94.1 · Services 76.4 · Rents 86.4 Bismarck, ND
Goods 95.7 · Services 75.0 · Rents 84.0 Fargo, ND-MN
Goods 95.7 · Services 77.3 · Rents 81.1 Waco, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.0 · Rents 83.5 Corpus Christi, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.0 · Rents 84.9 Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
Goods 93.7 · Services 71.7 · Rents 85.4
Compare to Other Metros
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Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Lincoln
How to read Lincoln'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 $109,193 in Lincoln. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 76.8, 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln, NE?
Lincoln, NE has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 91.6, meaning it is 8.4% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.1, services at 76.8, and rents at 84.2. It ranks #256 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Lincoln, NE to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $91,581 in Lincoln, NE. Conversely, $100K earned in Lincoln, NE has the purchasing power of $109,193 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Lincoln, NE?
Rents in Lincoln, NE are indexed at 84.2, which is 15.8% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Lincoln, NE getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Lincoln, NE's overall cost index changed by -3.4 points (from 95.0 to 91.6). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Lincoln, NE?
The priciest category in Lincoln, NE is goods at 94.1, 5.9% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 76.8, 23.2% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Lincoln, NE?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Evansville, Fond du Lac, Birmingham. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Lincoln, NE's 91.6.
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.