Overall
- Columbia
- 89.4
Diff +0.1 RPP
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway vs Columbia
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Columbia is 0.1% more expensive than Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway.
0.1% more expensive
Columbia, MO is 0.1% more expensive than Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 89.4 vs 89.4). A $100,000 salary in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway buys about the same as $100,083 in Columbia; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 89.4 (Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway) vs 89.4 (Columbia)
- $100k in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway ≈ $100,083 purchasing power in Columbia
- Services drives the gap (+11.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AR:MO 89.4→89.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE AR × MO
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway
89.4
Cost Index
Columbia
89.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR and Columbia, MO are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Columbia 11.3 points higher than Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway to $100,083 in Columbia, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Columbia
- 94.2
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
- Columbia
- 86.0
Diff +11.3 RPP
Rents
- Columbia
- 69.2
Diff +1.0 RPP
| Category | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway | Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 89.4 | 89.4 | +0.1 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 94.2 | +0.6 |
| Services | 74.6 | 86.0 | +11.3 |
| Rents | 68.3 | 69.2 | +1.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 89.4
Columbia 89.4
Goods
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 93.6
Columbia 94.2
Services
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 74.6
Columbia 86.0
Rents
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 68.3
Columbia 69.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway would need to be in Columbia for the same purchasing power:
| In Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway | In Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,041 | +$41 |
| $75,000 | $75,062 | +$62 |
| $100,000 | $100,083 | +$83 |
| $150,000 | $150,124 | +$124 |
$ in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway = in Columbia
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (89.4 → 89.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Columbia more expensive than Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway?
Columbia is 0.1% more expensive than Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway. The overall cost index is 89.4 vs 89.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Columbia equals $100K in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway?
A $100,000 salary in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway has the same purchasing power as $100,083 in Columbia. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway and Columbia?
Rents in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway are indexed at 68.3 while Columbia is at 69.2 (national average = 100). Columbia 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.