Overall
- Jonesboro
- 85.9
Diff +0.8 RPP
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux vs Jonesboro
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jonesboro is 0.9% more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux.
0.9% more expensive
Jonesboro, AR is 0.9% more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 85.1). A $100,000 salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux buys about the same as $100,908 in Jonesboro; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.1 (Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux) vs 85.9 (Jonesboro)
- $100k in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux ≈ $100,908 purchasing power in Jonesboro
- Services drives the gap (+3.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:AR 85.1→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE LA × AR
- 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.
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
85.1
Cost Index
Jonesboro
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA and Jonesboro, AR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.8 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Jonesboro is 3.7 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux to $100,908 in Jonesboro, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Jonesboro
- 93.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Jonesboro
- 75.0
Diff +3.7 RPP
Rents
- Jonesboro
- 53.8
Diff +2.5 RPP
| Category | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | Jonesboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.1 | 85.9 | +0.8 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Services | 71.3 | 75.0 | +3.7 |
| Rents | 51.3 | 53.8 | +2.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 85.1
Jonesboro 85.9
Goods
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 93.7
Jonesboro 93.6
Services
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 71.3
Jonesboro 75.0
Rents
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 51.3
Jonesboro 53.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux would need to be in Jonesboro for the same purchasing power:
| In Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | In Jonesboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,454 | +$454 |
| $75,000 | $75,681 | +$681 |
| $100,000 | $100,908 | +$908 |
| $150,000 | $151,362 | +$1,362 |
$ in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux = in Jonesboro
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.1 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jonesboro more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux?
Jonesboro is 0.9% more expensive than Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 85.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jonesboro equals $100K in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux?
A $100,000 salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux has the same purchasing power as $100,908 in Jonesboro. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux and Jonesboro?
Rents in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux are indexed at 51.3 while Jonesboro is at 53.8 (national average = 100). Jonesboro 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.