Overall
- Fort Smith
- 85.9
Diff +0.0 RPP
Fort Smith vs McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 0% more expensive than Fort Smith.
0% more expensive
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX is 0% more expensive than Fort Smith, AR-OK on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in Fort Smith buys about the same as $100,008 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (Fort Smith) vs 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission)
- $100k in Fort Smith ≈ $100,008 purchasing power in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
- Services drives the gap (+7.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:TX 85.9→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AR × TX
- 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.
Fort Smith
85.9
Cost Index
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fort Smith, AR-OK and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 7.4 points higher than Fort Smith. 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 Fort Smith to $100,008 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fort Smith
- 93.6
Diff +0.2 RPP
Services
- Fort Smith
- 73.8
Diff +7.4 RPP
Rents
- Fort Smith
- 53.4
Diff +2.4 RPP
| Category | Fort Smith | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 85.9 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.8 | +0.2 |
| Services | 73.8 | 81.2 | +7.4 |
| Rents | 53.4 | 55.9 | +2.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fort Smith 85.9
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Goods
Fort Smith 93.6
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Services
Fort Smith 73.8
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Rents
Fort Smith 53.4
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fort Smith would need to be in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission for the same purchasing power:
| In Fort Smith | In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,004 | +$4 |
| $75,000 | $75,006 | +$6 |
| $100,000 | $100,008 | +$8 |
| $150,000 | $150,012 | +$12 |
$ in Fort Smith = in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission more expensive than Fort Smith?
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 0% more expensive than Fort Smith. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission equals $100K in Fort Smith?
A $100,000 salary in Fort Smith has the same purchasing power as $100,008 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fort Smith and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Rents in Fort Smith are indexed at 53.4 while McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is at 55.9 (national average = 100). McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 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.