Overall
Diff +0.4 RPP
Jackson vs Jonesboro
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jonesboro is 0.4% more expensive than Jackson.
0.4% more expensive
Jonesboro, AR is 0.4% more expensive than Jackson, TN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 85.5). A $100,000 salary in Jackson buys about the same as $100,414 in Jonesboro; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.5 (Jackson) vs 85.9 (Jonesboro)
- $100k in Jackson ≈ $100,414 purchasing power in Jonesboro
- Rents drives the gap (-2.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TN:AR 85.5→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TN × 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.
Jackson
85.5
Cost Index
Jonesboro
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Jackson, TN and Jonesboro, AR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Jonesboro is 2.7 points lower. But rents 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 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 Jackson corresponds to $100,414 in Jonesboro.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
Diff +2.4 RPP
Rents
Diff -2.7 RPP
| Category | Jackson | Jonesboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.5 | 85.9 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.6 | -2.7 |
| Services | 72.6 | 75.0 | +2.4 |
| Rents | 56.6 | 53.8 | -2.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Jackson 85.5
Jonesboro 85.9
Goods
Jackson 96.2
Jonesboro 93.6
Services
Jackson 72.6
Jonesboro 75.0
Rents
Jackson 56.6
Jonesboro 53.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Jackson and Jonesboro share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 1.9 to 0.4 RPP points. Jonesboro remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 3.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.6 to 2.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Jackson RPP | Jonesboro RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 86.1 | 84.2 | 1.9 points Jackson higher |
| 2012 | 87.6 | 85.8 | 1.8 points Jackson higher |
| 2016 | 85.9 | 84.8 | 1.2 points Jackson higher |
| 2020 | 83.8 | 85.5 | 1.7 points Jonesboro higher |
| 2024 | 85.5 | 85.9 | 0.4 points Jonesboro 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Jackson would need to be in Jonesboro for the same purchasing power:
| In Jackson | In Jonesboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,207 | +$207 |
| $75,000 | $75,310 | +$310 |
| $100,000 | $100,414 | +$414 |
| $150,000 | $150,621 | +$621 |
$ in Jackson = in Jonesboro
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.5 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jonesboro more expensive than Jackson?
Jonesboro is 0.4% more expensive than Jackson. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 85.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jonesboro equals $100K in Jackson?
A $100,000 salary in Jackson has the same purchasing power as $100,414 in Jonesboro. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Jackson and Jonesboro?
Rents in Jackson are indexed at 56.6 while Jonesboro is at 53.8 (national average = 100). Jackson 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.