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CityLedger

Cedar Rapids vs Erie

Metro-area medians — Cedar Rapids, IA Metro Area vs Erie, PA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Cedar Rapids and Erie are evenly matched, each taking 4 of the clearly-decided measures.

Cedar Rapids and Erie cost about the same to live in, but Cedar Rapids households earn about 19% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Cedar Rapids.

Their widest everyday difference: Cedar Rapids has the tighter job market — 2.8% unemployment versus 4.5%.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Cedar Rapids, IA
$58,464
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$65,717
real value after local prices
Erie, PA
$59,011
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$64,883
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Cedar Rapids leaves you about $834/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Cedar Rapids
Erie
Livability (CityLedger)
61/100
41/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
89.0
91.0
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$84,636
$69,623
Median household income
$75,295
$63,322
Median rent
$933/mo
$888/mo
Median home value
$226,700
$200,000
Unemployment
2.8%
4.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
31.1%
31.1%
Average commute
21.2 min
19.6 min
Air quality (median AQI)
44
38
Avg temperature
48°F
51°F

Choose Cedar Rapids for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Unemployment
Full Cedar Rapids profile →

Choose Erie for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Erie profile →

More comparisons

Metros closest to Cedar Rapids and Erie on cost, income, size, and education.

Cedar Rapids vs Duluth→Cedar Rapids vs Topeka→Cedar Rapids vs Davenport→Erie vs Evansville→Erie vs Binghamton→Erie vs Duluth→

Cedar Rapids vs Erie — frequently asked

Is Cedar Rapids cheaper than Erie?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Cedar Rapids and Erie metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Cedar Rapids or Erie?
Cedar Rapids has the higher median household income — $75,295 versus $63,322 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 19% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Cedar Rapids or Erie?
A paycheck stretches further in Cedar Rapids. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $84,636 there versus $69,623 in Erie.
Which has cheaper rent, Cedar Rapids or Erie?
Erie has cheaper rent — a median of $888/mo versus $933/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).