Overall
91.9
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Omaha, NE-IA
Cost-of-living indicators for Omaha, NE-IA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 91.9
- Overall RPP
- #246
- of 387 metros
- 86.4
- Rents RPP
- $109K
- $100K national buys
Omaha ranks #246 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 4.1 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Augusta-Richmond County
The verdict
Omaha costs less than 64% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 91.9, 8.1% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 76.4.
- bottom 36%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.1
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 76.4
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $108,801 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $91,911.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$91,911
in Omaha, NE-IA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$45,956
$75,000 nationally
$68,933
$125,000 nationally
$114,889
$150,000 nationally
$137,867
$200,000 nationally
$183,822
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
39/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
39th 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 Omaha's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Omaha: their index is 76.4, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 91.9 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lincoln, NE, Bismarck, ND, Albuquerque, NM. They resemble Omaha 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, Omaha's overall index has fallen by 4.1 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.
Omaha vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
92 Bottom 36% higher than 36% 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
Omaha cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
86.4 RPP
- Services
Services
76.4 RPP
- Overall
Overall
91.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.1 RPP
What this shows Omaha's strongest departure is services at 76.4; rents follows at 86.4. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Omaha's cost comes from
Metros near Omaha's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Omaha (Omaha, this metro): goods RPP 94.1, rents RPP 86.4
- Augusta: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 70.6
- Bay City: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 66.7
- Midland: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 66.7
- Fayetteville: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 73.1
- Amarillo: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 78.4
- Jackson: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 67.1
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.1
Below avg
Services
76.4
Cheap
Rents
86.4
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Omaha's overall RPP fell -0.6 points, from 92.5 in 2023 to 91.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 81.0 to 76.4. 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 4.1 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2022, when the index dropped 1.8 points from the year before.
Omaha overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.0 |
| 2009 | 96.2 |
| 2010 | 95.8 |
| 2011 | 94.2 |
| 2012 | 95.7 |
| 2013 | 95.1 |
| 2014 | 95.6 |
| 2015 | 94.2 |
| 2016 | 94.6 |
| 2017 | 94.1 |
| 2018 | 94.2 |
| 2019 | 94.9 |
| 2020 | 95.0 |
| 2021 | 93.8 |
| 2022 | 92.0 |
| 2023 | 92.5 |
| 2024 | 91.9 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Omaha, NE-IA's index of 91.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
NE-relative analysis
Goods prices places Omaha, NE-IA near the bottom of NE's metros
Among the 3 NE metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Omaha, NE-IA ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Omaha, NE-IA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 3
0th percentile in NE
Services prices
#2 of 3
33rd percentile in NE
Rent prices
#1 of 3
67th 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 Omaha, NE-IA: 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 (91.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (86.4 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 Omaha'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 Bismarck, ND
Goods 95.7 · Services 75.0 · Rents 84.0 Albuquerque, NM
Goods 96.1 · Services 77.9 · Rents 89.2 Cheyenne, WY
Goods 95.4 · Services 78.0 · Rents 89.8 Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
Goods 93.7 · Services 71.7 · Rents 85.4 Corpus Christi, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.0 · Rents 84.9
Compare to Other Metros
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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 Omaha
How to read Omaha'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 $108,801 in Omaha. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 76.4, 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 Omaha 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 Omaha, NE-IA?
Omaha, NE-IA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 91.9, meaning it is 8.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.1, services at 76.4, and rents at 86.4. It ranks #246 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Omaha, NE-IA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $91,911 in Omaha, NE-IA. Conversely, $100K earned in Omaha, NE-IA has the purchasing power of $108,801 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Omaha, NE-IA?
Rents in Omaha, NE-IA are indexed at 86.4, which is 13.6% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Omaha, NE-IA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Omaha, NE-IA's overall cost index changed by -4.1 points (from 96.0 to 91.9). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Omaha, NE-IA?
The priciest category in Omaha, NE-IA 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 76.4, 23.6% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Omaha, NE-IA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Augusta-Richmond County, Bay City, Midland. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Omaha, NE-IA's 91.9.
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.