Overall
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff -0.9 RPP
Joplin vs Florence-Muscle Shoals
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Florence-Muscle Shoals is 1.1% less expensive than Joplin.
1.1% less expensive
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL is 1.1% less expensive than Joplin, MO-KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 84.8 vs 85.7). A $100,000 salary in Joplin buys about the same as $98,949 in Florence-Muscle Shoals; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.7 (Joplin) vs 84.8 (Florence-Muscle Shoals)
- $100k in Joplin ≈ $98,949 purchasing power in Florence-Muscle Shoals
- Rents drives the gap (-6.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MO:AL 85.7→84.8
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MO × AL
- 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.
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
Florence-Muscle Shoals
84.8
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Joplin, MO-KS and Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.9 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Florence-Muscle Shoals is 6.3 points lower. 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 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 Joplin corresponds to $98,949 in Florence-Muscle Shoals.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Joplin
- 94.2
Diff +2.2 RPP
Services
- Joplin
- 85.9
Diff -0.1 RPP
Rents
- Joplin
- 54.0
Diff -6.3 RPP
| Category | Joplin | Florence-Muscle Shoals | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.7 | 84.8 | -0.9 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 96.4 | +2.2 |
| Services | 85.9 | 85.8 | -0.1 |
| Rents | 54.0 | 47.7 | -6.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Joplin 85.7
Florence-Muscle Shoals 84.8
Goods
Joplin 94.2
Florence-Muscle Shoals 96.4
Services
Joplin 85.9
Florence-Muscle Shoals 85.8
Rents
Joplin 54.0
Florence-Muscle Shoals 47.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Joplin would need to be in Florence-Muscle Shoals for the same purchasing power:
| In Joplin | In Florence-Muscle Shoals | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,474 | $-526 |
| $75,000 | $74,212 | $-788 |
| $100,000 | $98,949 | $-1,051 |
| $150,000 | $148,423 | $-1,577 |
$ in Joplin = in Florence-Muscle Shoals
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.7 → 84.8), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Florence-Muscle Shoals more expensive than Joplin?
Florence-Muscle Shoals is 1.1% less expensive than Joplin. The overall cost index is 84.8 vs 85.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Florence-Muscle Shoals equals $100K in Joplin?
A $100,000 salary in Joplin has the same purchasing power as $98,949 in Florence-Muscle Shoals. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Joplin and Florence-Muscle Shoals?
Rents in Joplin are indexed at 54.0 while Florence-Muscle Shoals is at 47.7 (national average = 100). Joplin 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.