Overall
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff +0.9 RPP
Florence-Muscle Shoals vs Joplin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Joplin is 1.1% more expensive than Florence-Muscle Shoals.
1.1% more expensive
Joplin, MO-KS is 1.1% more expensive than Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.7 vs 84.8). A $100,000 salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals buys about the same as $101,062 in Joplin; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 84.8 (Florence-Muscle Shoals) vs 85.7 (Joplin)
- $100k in Florence-Muscle Shoals ≈ $101,062 purchasing power in Joplin
- Rents drives the gap (+6.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AL:MO 84.8→85.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AL × MO
- 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.
Florence-Muscle Shoals
84.8
Cost Index
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL and Joplin, MO-KS are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.9 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Joplin is 6.3 points higher. But 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 Florence-Muscle Shoals corresponds to $101,062 in Joplin.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Joplin
- 94.2
Diff -2.2 RPP
Services
- Joplin
- 85.9
Diff +0.1 RPP
Rents
- Joplin
- 54.0
Diff +6.3 RPP
| Category | Florence-Muscle Shoals | Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 84.8 | 85.7 | +0.9 |
| Goods | 96.4 | 94.2 | -2.2 |
| Services | 85.8 | 85.9 | +0.1 |
| Rents | 47.7 | 54.0 | +6.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Florence-Muscle Shoals 84.8
Joplin 85.7
Goods
Florence-Muscle Shoals 96.4
Joplin 94.2
Services
Florence-Muscle Shoals 85.8
Joplin 85.9
Rents
Florence-Muscle Shoals 47.7
Joplin 54.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals would need to be in Joplin for the same purchasing power:
| In Florence-Muscle Shoals | In Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,531 | +$531 |
| $75,000 | $75,797 | +$797 |
| $100,000 | $101,062 | +$1,062 |
| $150,000 | $151,593 | +$1,593 |
$ in Florence-Muscle Shoals = in Joplin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (84.8 → 85.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Joplin more expensive than Florence-Muscle Shoals?
Joplin is 1.1% more expensive than Florence-Muscle Shoals. The overall cost index is 85.7 vs 84.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Joplin equals $100K in Florence-Muscle Shoals?
A $100,000 salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals has the same purchasing power as $101,062 in Joplin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Florence-Muscle Shoals and Joplin?
Rents in Florence-Muscle Shoals are indexed at 47.7 while Joplin is at 54.0 (national average = 100). Joplin 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.