Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +6.9 RPP
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 7.6% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers.
7.6% more expensive
Merced, CA is 7.6% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 91.4). A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers buys about the same as $107,577 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.4 (Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers ≈ $107,577 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+83.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:CA 91.4→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE AR × CA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Merced, CA is 7.6% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.9-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 83.2 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.
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 $107,577 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 1.7 to 6.9 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 65.4 points between the first and latest shared releases (17.9 to 83.2 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.6 | 94.3 | 1.7 points Merced higher |
| 2012 | 94.3 | 98.6 | 4.3 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 94.3 | 95.3 | 1.0 points Merced higher |
| 2020 | 92.7 | 98.7 | 6.0 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 91.4 | 98.3 | 6.9 points Merced higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +11.6 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +83.2 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +1.7 RPP
| Category | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.4 | 98.3 | +6.9 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 105.2 | +11.6 |
| Services | 75.1 | 158.3 | +83.2 |
| Rents | 76.9 | 78.6 | +1.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 91.4
Merced 98.3
Goods
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 93.6
Merced 105.2
Services
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 75.1
Merced 158.3
Rents
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 76.9
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,789 | +$3,789 |
| $75,000 | $80,683 | +$5,683 |
| $100,000 | $107,577 | +$7,577 |
| $150,000 | $161,366 | +$11,366 |
$ in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.4 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
91.4
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers?
Merced is 7.6% more expensive than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 91.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers?
A $100,000 salary in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers has the same purchasing power as $107,577 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers and Merced?
Rents in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers are indexed at 76.9 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Merced 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.