Overall
- Hot Springs
- 85.7
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff -0.0 RPP
Hot Springs vs Joplin
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Joplin is 0% less expensive than Hot Springs.
0% less expensive
Joplin, MO-KS is 0% less expensive than Hot Springs, AR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.7 vs 85.7). A $100,000 salary in Hot Springs buys about the same as $99,986 in Joplin; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.7 (Hot Springs) vs 85.7 (Joplin)
- $100k in Hot Springs ≈ $99,986 purchasing power in Joplin
- Services drives the gap (+11.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:MO 85.7→85.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AR × 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.
Hot Springs
85.7
Cost Index
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Hot Springs, AR and Joplin, MO-KS 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 creates the largest separation: Joplin is 11.6 points higher. But services and 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Hot Springs to $99,986 in Joplin, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Hot Springs
- 93.6
- Joplin
- 94.2
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
- Hot Springs
- 74.3
- Joplin
- 85.9
Diff +11.6 RPP
Rents
- Hot Springs
- 57.3
- Joplin
- 54.0
Diff -3.3 RPP
| Category | Hot Springs | Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.7 | 85.7 | -0.0 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 94.2 | +0.6 |
| Services | 74.3 | 85.9 | +11.6 |
| Rents | 57.3 | 54.0 | -3.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Hot Springs 85.7
Joplin 85.7
Goods
Hot Springs 93.6
Joplin 94.2
Services
Hot Springs 74.3
Joplin 85.9
Rents
Hot Springs 57.3
Joplin 54.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Hot Springs would need to be in Joplin for the same purchasing power:
| In Hot Springs | In Joplin | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,993 | $-7 |
| $75,000 | $74,990 | $-10 |
| $100,000 | $99,986 | $-14 |
| $150,000 | $149,979 | $-21 |
$ in Hot Springs = in Joplin
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.7 → 85.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Also Compare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Joplin more expensive than Hot Springs?
Joplin is 0% less expensive than Hot Springs. The overall cost index is 85.7 vs 85.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Joplin equals $100K in Hot Springs?
A $100,000 salary in Hot Springs has the same purchasing power as $99,986 in Joplin. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Hot Springs and Joplin?
Rents in Hot Springs are indexed at 57.3 while Joplin is at 54.0 (national average = 100). Hot Springs 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.