Overall
- Bismarck
- 91.0
Diff +0.3 RPP
Bismarck vs Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers is 0.4% more expensive than Bismarck.
0.4% more expensive
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR is 0.4% more expensive than Bismarck, ND on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.4 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in Bismarck buys about the same as $100,361 in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (Bismarck) vs 91.4 (Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers)
- $100k in Bismarck ≈ $100,361 purchasing power in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
- Rents drives the gap (-7.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ND:AR 91.0→91.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ND × AR
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Bismarck
91.0
Cost Index
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
91.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Bismarck, ND and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.3 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers is 7.1 points lower. But rents and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Bismarck corresponds to $100,361 in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Bismarck
- 95.7
Diff -2.1 RPP
Services
- Bismarck
- 75.0
Diff +0.1 RPP
Rents
- Bismarck
- 84.0
Diff -7.1 RPP
| Category | Bismarck | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 91.4 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 95.7 | 93.6 | -2.1 |
| Services | 75.0 | 75.1 | +0.1 |
| Rents | 84.0 | 76.9 | -7.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Bismarck 91.0
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 91.4
Goods
Bismarck 95.7
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 93.6
Services
Bismarck 75.0
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 75.1
Rents
Bismarck 84.0
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 76.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Bismarck would need to be in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers for the same purchasing power:
| In Bismarck | In Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,181 | +$181 |
| $75,000 | $75,271 | +$271 |
| $100,000 | $100,361 | +$361 |
| $150,000 | $150,542 | +$542 |
$ in Bismarck = in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 91.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers more expensive than Bismarck?
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers is 0.4% more expensive than Bismarck. The overall cost index is 91.4 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers equals $100K in Bismarck?
A $100,000 salary in Bismarck has the same purchasing power as $100,361 in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Bismarck and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers?
Rents in Bismarck are indexed at 84.0 while Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers is at 76.9 (national average = 100). Bismarck has higher rents.
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.