Overall
Diff +0.3 RPP
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers vs Des Moines-West Des Moines
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Des Moines-West Des Moines is 0.4% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers.
0.4% more expensive
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 0.4% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.7 vs 91.4). A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers buys about the same as $100,381 in Des Moines-West Des Moines; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.4 (Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers) vs 91.7 (Des Moines-West Des Moines)
- $100k in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers ≈ $100,381 purchasing power in Des Moines-West Des Moines
- Services drives the gap (+9.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:IA 91.4→91.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AR × IA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
91.4
Cost Index
Des Moines-West Des Moines
91.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR and Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 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.
Services leads the difference, with Des Moines-West Des Moines 9.5 points higher than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers to $100,381 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
Diff +9.5 RPP
Rents
Diff +7.9 RPP
| Category | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.4 | 91.7 | +0.3 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.7 | +0.2 |
| Services | 75.1 | 84.6 | +9.5 |
| Rents | 76.9 | 84.7 | +7.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 91.4
Des Moines-West Des Moines 91.7
Goods
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 93.6
Des Moines-West Des Moines 93.7
Services
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 75.1
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.6
Rents
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 76.9
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers would need to be in Des Moines-West Des Moines for the same purchasing power:
| In Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | In Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,190 | +$190 |
| $75,000 | $75,286 | +$286 |
| $100,000 | $100,381 | +$381 |
| $150,000 | $150,571 | +$571 |
$ in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers = in Des Moines-West Des Moines
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.4 → 91.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Des Moines-West Des Moines more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers?
Des Moines-West Des Moines is 0.4% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers. The overall cost index is 91.7 vs 91.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines equals $100K in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers?
A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers has the same purchasing power as $100,381 in Des Moines-West Des Moines. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers and Des Moines-West Des Moines?
Rents in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers are indexed at 76.9 while Des Moines-West Des Moines is at 84.7 (national average = 100). Des Moines-West Des Moines 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.