Overall
Diff -12.9 RPP
Santa Fe vs Jonesboro
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jonesboro is 13.1% less expensive than Santa Fe.
13.1% less expensive
Jonesboro, AR is 13.1% less expensive than Santa Fe, NM on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 98.8). A $100,000 salary in Santa Fe buys about the same as $86,948 in Jonesboro; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.8 (Santa Fe) vs 85.9 (Jonesboro)
- $100k in Santa Fe ≈ $86,948 purchasing power in Jonesboro
- Rents drives the gap (-54.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NM:AR 98.8→85.9
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE NM × AR
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Santa Fe would need to be in Jonesboro for the same purchasing power:
| In Santa Fe | In Jonesboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $43,474 | $-6,526 |
| $75,000 | $65,211 | $-9,789 |
| $100,000 | $86,948 | $-13,052 |
| $150,000 | $130,422 | $-19,578 |
$ in Santa Fe = in Jonesboro
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.8 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Santa Fe, NM and Jonesboro, AR sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 12.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
Rents leads the difference, with Jonesboro 54.1 points lower than Santa Fe. 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.
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 Santa Fe corresponds to $86,948 in Jonesboro.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff -2.6 RPP
Services
Diff -1.7 RPP
Rents
Diff -54.1 RPP
| Category | Santa Fe | Jonesboro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.8 | 85.9 | -12.9 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 93.6 | -2.6 |
| Services | 76.7 | 75.0 | -1.7 |
| Rents | 108.0 | 53.8 | -54.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Santa Fe 98.8
Jonesboro 85.9
Goods
Santa Fe 96.1
Jonesboro 93.6
Services
Santa Fe 76.7
Jonesboro 75.0
Rents
Santa Fe 108.0
Jonesboro 53.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Santa Fe
98.8
Cost Index
Jonesboro
85.9
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Santa Fe and Jonesboro share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 13.8 to 12.9 RPP points. Santa Fe remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 4.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (6.0 to 1.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Santa Fe RPP | Jonesboro RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 98.0 | 84.2 | 13.8 points Santa Fe higher |
| 2012 | 102.1 | 85.8 | 16.3 points Santa Fe higher |
| 2016 | 98.4 | 84.8 | 13.7 points Santa Fe higher |
| 2020 | 96.6 | 85.5 | 11.2 points Santa Fe higher |
| 2024 | 98.8 | 85.9 | 12.9 points Santa Fe 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jonesboro more expensive than Santa Fe?
Jonesboro is 13.1% less expensive than Santa Fe. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 98.8 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jonesboro equals $100K in Santa Fe?
A $100,000 salary in Santa Fe has the same purchasing power as $86,948 in Jonesboro. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Santa Fe and Jonesboro?
Rents in Santa Fe are indexed at 108.0 while Jonesboro is at 53.8 (national average = 100). Santa Fe 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.