Overall
- Paducah
- 86.1
- Fort Smith
- 85.9
Diff -0.2 RPP
Paducah vs Fort Smith
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fort Smith is 0.2% less expensive than Paducah.
0.2% less expensive
Fort Smith, AR-OK is 0.2% less expensive than Paducah, KY-IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 86.1). A $100,000 salary in Paducah buys about the same as $99,772 in Fort Smith; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 86.1 (Paducah) vs 85.9 (Fort Smith)
- $100k in Paducah ≈ $99,772 purchasing power in Fort Smith
- Rents drives the gap (+4.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair KY:AR 86.1→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE KY × 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.
Paducah
86.1
Cost Index
Fort Smith
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Paducah, KY-IL and Fort Smith, AR-OK are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Fort Smith is 4.6 points higher. But rents 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 Paducah corresponds to $99,772 in Fort Smith.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Paducah
- 96.0
- Fort Smith
- 93.6
Diff -2.4 RPP
Services
- Paducah
- 76.9
- Fort Smith
- 73.8
Diff -3.1 RPP
Rents
- Paducah
- 48.8
- Fort Smith
- 53.4
Diff +4.6 RPP
| Category | Paducah | Fort Smith | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 86.1 | 85.9 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 96.0 | 93.6 | -2.4 |
| Services | 76.9 | 73.8 | -3.1 |
| Rents | 48.8 | 53.4 | +4.6 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Paducah 86.1
Fort Smith 85.9
Goods
Paducah 96.0
Fort Smith 93.6
Services
Paducah 76.9
Fort Smith 73.8
Rents
Paducah 48.8
Fort Smith 53.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Paducah would need to be in Fort Smith for the same purchasing power:
| In Paducah | In Fort Smith | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,886 | $-114 |
| $75,000 | $74,829 | $-171 |
| $100,000 | $99,772 | $-228 |
| $150,000 | $149,658 | $-342 |
$ in Paducah = in Fort Smith
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (86.1 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Smith more expensive than Paducah?
Fort Smith is 0.2% less expensive than Paducah. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 86.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fort Smith equals $100K in Paducah?
A $100,000 salary in Paducah has the same purchasing power as $99,772 in Fort Smith. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Paducah and Fort Smith?
Rents in Paducah are indexed at 48.8 while Fort Smith is at 53.4 (national average = 100). Fort Smith 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.