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Regional prices · BEA 2024 · metro area

Cost of living in Minneapolis: metro-area prices 4.8% above the U.S. average.

The official BEA price level for Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN-WI, what makes it up, what a salary is worth here at U.S.-average prices, and how local jobs pay once regional prices are taken into account.

Updated Nov 1, 2026 · Data: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (Feb 2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025
Regional price parity · all items104.8U.S. = 100 · rank 31 of 387
Purchasing-power equivalent · BEA RPP 2024

$100,000 in Minneapolis ≈ $95,400 at U.S.-average prices.

Quick answer

BEA's Regional Price Parity shows that prices across the Minneapolis metropolitan area are approximately 4.8% above the U.S. average (RPP 104.8 for 2024, U.S. = 100; metro rank 31 of 387, most expensive first). The figure covers the whole Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN-WI metro area, not only the city. It measures average prices of goods and services for the average consumer, not a household budget, rent alone or taxes. Rents are tracked separately: 111.8 here against 100.6 nationally.

What RPP measures

Regional Price Parities (BEA) compare average price levels of goods and services across states and metro areas in one year, with the U.S. = 100. An RPP of 104.8 means prices about 4.8% above the national level.

What it does not measure

A household budget, rent alone, taxes, disposable income, home affordability, lifestyle, savings, or any individual's actual spending.

Price level (all items)
104.8
U.S. 100 · BEA 2024
Rents (tenant housing)
111.8
U.S. 100.6 · shown separately
$100,000 here equals
$95,400
at U.S.-average prices
To match $100,000 (U.S. prices)
$104,822
needed here

Data Area covered: Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN-WI (BEA metropolitan statistical area 33460), not only Minneapolis.

What makes it up

Price levels by category

Data BEA RPP components for 2024. Rents cover tenant-occupied housing only. Each U.S. value is BEA's national figure for that category.

  1. All items104.8 U.S. 100.0
  2. Goods103.1 U.S. 99.6
  3. Housing (rents)111.8 U.S. 100.6
  4. Utilities93.5 U.S. 98.4
  5. Other services104.4 U.S. 100.1
Local pay

What the largest occupations in Minneapolis pay

Data BLS median wage (May 2025), the same wage at U.S.-average prices (TryHired calculation with BEA RPP), and the occupation's U.S. median.

Pay in Minneapolis before and after regional prices
OccupationLocal medianAt U.S.-average pricesU.S. medianEmployed here
Sales Associate$36,670$34,983$35,41051,180
Operations Manager$103,570$98,806$105,77044,890
Registered Nurse$103,040$98,300$97,55043,600
Customer Service Representative$49,480$47,204$44,77038,630
Fast Food and Counter Workers$33,040$31,520$31,20037,920
Material Handler$47,320$45,143$40,24036,700
Office Clerks, General$48,790$46,546$45,01035,610
Cashier$35,760$34,115$32,88032,760
Software Engineer$130,920$124,897$135,98027,410
Janitor$40,800$38,923$36,84026,790
Stocker$37,440$35,718$37,33025,700
Server$25,920$24,728$35,23025,620
Pay that goes furthest

Where Minneapolis pay stretches furthest against the U.S.

Data Local median at U.S.-average prices compared with the occupation's U.S. median; occupations with at least 100 people employed here.

  1. Plasterers and Stucco Masons+79% vs U.S.
  2. Agricultural Inspector+62% vs U.S.
  3. Pipelayer+60% vs U.S.
  4. Plumber+52% vs U.S.
  5. Mason+50% vs U.S.
  6. First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers+49% vs U.S.
  7. Ironworker+49% vs U.S.
  8. Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling+48% vs U.S.
  9. Transportation Inspector+46% vs U.S.
  10. Dental Assistant+44% vs U.S.
State

The state around this metro area

Data BEA publishes a separate price level for each state; a metro area and its state usually differ.

Similar price levels

Places with the closest price levels

Data Differences of 3 points or less are within year-to-year movement, so treat them as ties.

FAQ

Common questions

Is Minneapolis expensive?
BEA's 2024 regional price parity for Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN-WI is 104.8 (U.S. = 100): prices average 4.8% above the national level. Rents alone are at 111.8 (U.S. 100.6).
Is $100,000 a good salary in Minneapolis?
At Minneapolis's 2024 price level, $100,000 is equivalent to about $95,400 at U.S.-average prices; matching $100,000 at U.S.-average prices takes about $104,822 here. Whether that is enough depends on your own costs, which this page does not measure.
Is this my cost of living?
No. A regional price parity is an average price level for the average consumer. Your own costs depend on housing, household size, taxes, commuting and spending, which it does not measure.
Method

How this page is built

BEA Regional Price Parities measure differences in price levels across states and metropolitan areas for one year, relative to the U.S. (= 100), for the goods and services bought by the average consumer. Salary at U.S.-average prices = salary ÷ (RPP ÷ 100). Equivalent salary in place B for a salary in place A = salary × RPP(B) ÷ RPP(A). BEA uses the same division to price-adjust income; its further steps (a small national rebalancing factor and conversion to constant dollars) are for time series and are not applied. Metro areas use the OMB 2023 delineations, the same codes BLS uses. Data area for this page: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area), BEA/OMB code 33460; the BLS wages use the same area. Searches this page answers include “minneapolis cost of living”, “cost of living in minneapolis”, “cost of living in minneapolis minnesota” (Ahrefs, U.S.).

What this page can't tell you
  • Anyone's personal cost of living or household budget: RPPs are average price levels for the average consumer.
  • Taxes, take-home pay, home prices, household size, commuting or lifestyle.
  • Exact prices: RPPs are indexes, and BEA notes place-to-place price comparisons can be volatile where survey samples are small.
  • Year match: 2024 price levels are applied to May 2025 wages.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, 2024 (released Feb 19, 2026; SARPP and MARPP tables; retrieved Oct 25, 2026). Methodology.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).