Overall
- Fort Smith
- 85.9
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +12.4 RPP
Fort Smith vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 14.4% more expensive than Fort Smith.
14.4% more expensive
Merced, CA is 14.4% more expensive than Fort Smith, AR-OK on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in Fort Smith buys about the same as $114,422 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (Fort Smith) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Fort Smith ≈ $114,422 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+84.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:CA 85.9→98.3
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- 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.
Fort Smith, AR-OK and Merced, CA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.4 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Services leads the difference, with Merced 84.5 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.
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 $114,422 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Fort Smith and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 3.6 to 12.4 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 66.0 points between the first and latest shared releases (18.5 to 84.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Fort Smith RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 90.7 | 94.3 | 3.6 points Merced higher |
| 2012 | 89.8 | 98.6 | 8.7 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 89.3 | 95.3 | 6.0 points Merced higher |
| 2020 | 87.1 | 98.7 | 11.7 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 85.9 | 98.3 | 12.4 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
- Fort Smith
- 93.6
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +11.6 RPP
Services
- Fort Smith
- 73.8
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +84.5 RPP
Rents
- Fort Smith
- 53.4
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff +25.2 RPP
| Category | Fort Smith | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 98.3 | +12.4 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 105.2 | +11.6 |
| Services | 73.8 | 158.3 | +84.5 |
| Rents | 53.4 | 78.6 | +25.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fort Smith 85.9
Merced 98.3
Goods
Fort Smith 93.6
Merced 105.2
Services
Fort Smith 73.8
Merced 158.3
Rents
Fort Smith 53.4
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fort Smith would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Fort Smith | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $57,211 | +$7,211 |
| $75,000 | $85,817 | +$10,817 |
| $100,000 | $114,422 | +$14,422 |
| $150,000 | $171,633 | +$21,633 |
$ in Fort Smith = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Fort Smith
85.9
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Fort Smith?
Merced is 14.4% more expensive than Fort Smith. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Fort Smith?
A $100,000 salary in Fort Smith has the same purchasing power as $114,422 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fort Smith and Merced?
Rents in Fort Smith are indexed at 53.4 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.