Overall
Diff -0.4 RPP
Jonesboro vs Jackson
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jackson is 0.4% less expensive than Jonesboro.
0.4% less expensive
Jackson, TN is 0.4% less expensive than Jonesboro, AR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.5 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in Jonesboro buys about the same as $99,588 in Jackson; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (Jonesboro) vs 85.5 (Jackson)
- $100k in Jonesboro ≈ $99,588 purchasing power in Jackson
- Rents drives the gap (+2.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:TN 85.9→85.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AR × TN
- 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.
Jonesboro
85.9
Cost Index
Jackson
85.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Jonesboro, AR and Jackson, TN 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: Jackson is 2.7 points higher. 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 Jonesboro corresponds to $99,588 in Jackson.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.7 RPP
Services
Diff -2.4 RPP
Rents
Diff +2.7 RPP
| Category | Jonesboro | Jackson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 85.5 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 96.2 | +2.7 |
| Services | 75.0 | 72.6 | -2.4 |
| Rents | 53.8 | 56.6 | +2.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Jonesboro 85.9
Jackson 85.5
Goods
Jonesboro 93.6
Jackson 96.2
Services
Jonesboro 75.0
Jackson 72.6
Rents
Jonesboro 53.8
Jackson 56.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Jonesboro and Jackson 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 | Jonesboro RPP | Jackson RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 84.2 | 86.1 | 1.9 points Jackson higher |
| 2012 | 85.8 | 87.6 | 1.8 points Jackson higher |
| 2016 | 84.8 | 85.9 | 1.2 points Jackson higher |
| 2020 | 85.5 | 83.8 | 1.7 points Jonesboro higher |
| 2024 | 85.9 | 85.5 | 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 Jonesboro would need to be in Jackson for the same purchasing power:
| In Jonesboro | In Jackson | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,794 | $-206 |
| $75,000 | $74,691 | $-309 |
| $100,000 | $99,588 | $-412 |
| $150,000 | $149,382 | $-618 |
$ in Jonesboro = in Jackson
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 85.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jackson more expensive than Jonesboro?
Jackson is 0.4% less expensive than Jonesboro. The overall cost index is 85.5 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jackson equals $100K in Jonesboro?
A $100,000 salary in Jonesboro has the same purchasing power as $99,588 in Jackson. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Jonesboro and Jackson?
Rents in Jonesboro are indexed at 53.8 while Jackson is at 56.6 (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.