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Cost of Living
The Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Area & Other Select Cities
The Cost of Living Index is now available from Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC). The index is published by the council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). This organization was formerly known as ACCRA. Approximately 271 cities throughout the United States and Canada participate each quarter.
Cost of living statistics are some of the most commonly requested information provided by TRPC. C2ER produces the only index of its scale and kind in the United States, allowing users to compare living costs in a particular place to the average of all participating cities. The C2ER index differs from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in that the CPI strictly compares costs in one region over time. In contrast, the C2ER index allows for comparisons among many places at one point in time, but does not compare changes over time. To obtain cost of living data for other parts of the country, visit the C2ER website.
Items surveyed include products and services in the categories of:
- Groceries
- Health care
- Housing
- Transportation
- Utilities
- Miscellaneous
Cost of Living Survey Results
Select U.S. Metropolitan Areas, First Quarter, 2023
The Cost of Living Index compiles costs of consumer products on a quarterly basis. Currently, the cost of living in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater region is 14.8 percent higher than the average of all 271 urban areas participating in the survey. The average cost of living of all the cities participating in the survey is always scaled to equal 100. The purpose of the index is to compare living costs in a particular location to this average. The index cannot, however, be used to compare changes in costs over time, as the cities participating in the survey change each quarter. Think of the index in terms of percentages. The average cost of living of all cities participating in the survey is 100 percent of itself.
| City | 100% Composite Index | 15.73% Grocery Items | 28.10% Housing | 9.06% Utilities | 8.53% Trans- portation | 4.83% Health Care | 33.75% Misc. Goods & Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average of Cities Participating in the Survey this Year | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Bellingham, WA | 122.6 | 107.8 | 143.5 | 90.8 | 116.5 | 110.8 | 124.0 |
| Bremerton Metro | 119.5 | 109.0 | 125.9 | 89.3 | 128.9 | 129.4 | 123.5 |
| Kennewick-Richland WA Metro | 97.6 | 102.8 | 95.4 | 88.4 | 109.8 | 117.7 | 93.6 |
| Moses Lake, WA | 101.1 | 106.6 | 99.7 | 78.3 | 112.6 | 120.0 | 100.2 |
| Mount Vernon - Anacortes, WA | 116.5 | 108.3 | 134.3 | 90.4 | 111.9 | 126.6 | 112.2 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 114.8 | 108.4 | 122.5 | 97.1 | 125.3 | 125.7 | 111.9 |
| Seattle, WA - Everett Division | 126.1 | 112.2 | 158.7 | 94.1 | 111.9 | 116.7 | 119.0 |
| Seattle, WA - Kent Division | 120.1 | 116.2 | 145.9 | 96.2 | 117.9 | 107.7 | 109.3 |
| Seattle, WA - Seattle Divison | 144.5 | 117.0 | 210.1 | 102.0 | 125.6 | 134.5 | 120.2 |
| Spokane, WA | 101.2 | 109.2 | 96.0 | 93.9 | 104.5 | 111.4 | 101.4 |
| Tacoma-Lakewood, WA | 119.2 | 113.3 | 132.5 | 94.8 | 130.4 | 127.1 | 113.5 |
| Yakima, WA | 98.4 | 106.1 | 87.8 | 90.5 | 109.8 | 110.0 | 101.2 |
| Portland, OR | 120.7 | 108.9 | 152.6 | 93.5 | 122.8 | 107.6 | 108.2 |
| New York (Manhattan), NY | 222.0 | 116.3 | 480.2 | 100.6 | 119.7 | 113.5 | 130.2 |
| Atlanta, GA | 100.4 | 101.5 | 104.2 | 81.1 | 101.4 | 111.4 | 100.1 |
| Denver, CO | 111.9 | 104.9 | 134.7 | 86.5 | 107.5 | 100.5 | 105.8 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA | 149.1 | 111.6 | 235.2 | 112.7 | 121.9 | 109.5 | 117.2 |
Sources: The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER); Thurston Regional Planning Council.
Compare Cities
Moving to Thurston County? Use the Cost of Living Index Calculator to compare the cost of groceries, utilities, and services in the Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater area to participating cities throughout the country.
Contact Us
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Thurston Regional Planning Council
2411 Chandler Court SW
Olympia, WA 98502
info@trpc.orgPh: 360-956-7575