Overall
85.7
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Hot Springs, AR
Cost-of-living indicators for Hot Springs, AR, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 85.7
- Overall RPP
- #373
- of 387 metros
- 57.3
- Rents RPP
- $117K
- $100K national buys
Hot Springs ranks #373 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Joplin
The verdict
Hot Springs costs less than 96% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 85.7, 14.3% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 57.3.
- bottom 4%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.6
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 74.3
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $116,645 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $85,730.
Hot Springs vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
86 Bottom 4% higher than 4% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Hot Springs cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
57.3 RPP
- Services
Services
74.3 RPP
- Overall
Overall
85.7 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.6 RPP
What this shows Hot Springs's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 57.3 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 74.3. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Hot Springs's cost comes from
Metros near Hot Springs's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Crosshairs sit at the group median (goods 93.7, rents 53.7). Hot Springs is skewed toward housing costs relative to its peer group. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
Read the chart as text
- Hot Springs (Hot Springs, this metro): goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 57.3
- Joplin: goods RPP 94.2, rents RPP 54
- Alexandria: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 53.7
- Gadsden: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 53.7
- Lake Charles: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 51.8
- Jonesboro: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 53.8
- Fort Smith: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 53.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.6
Below avg
Services
74.3
Cheap
Rents
57.3
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Hot Springs's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Hot Springs: rents index at 57.3, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 85.7.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lawton, OK, Jackson, TN, Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA. They resemble Hot Springs across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Hot Springs's overall index has stayed within 0.9 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$85,730
in Hot Springs, AR purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$42,865
$75,000 nationally
$64,298
$125,000 nationally
$107,163
$150,000 nationally
$128,595
$200,000 nationally
$171,460
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
B
89/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability B
89th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Hot Springs's overall RPP fell -0.4 points, from 86.1 in 2023 to 85.7 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 81.2 to 74.3. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.9 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2017, when the index dropped 2.8 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Hot Springs overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 86.7 |
| 2009 | 84.8 |
| 2010 | 86.7 |
| 2011 | 88.8 |
| 2012 | 88.2 |
| 2013 | 87.5 |
| 2014 | 85.2 |
| 2015 | 86.1 |
| 2016 | 88.4 |
| 2017 | 85.6 |
| 2018 | 85.7 |
| 2019 | 86.3 |
| 2020 | 87.2 |
| 2021 | 88.6 |
| 2022 | 86.2 |
| 2023 | 86.1 |
| 2024 | 85.7 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Hot Springs's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Lawton, OK
Goods 93.8 · Services 73.0 · Rents 57.4 Jackson, TN
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.6 · Rents 56.6 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
Goods 96.2 · Services 75.9 · Rents 56.5 Owensboro, KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 75.2 · Rents 55.7 Lafayette, LA
Goods 93.7 · Services 71.2 · Rents 58.8 Jonesboro, AR
Goods 93.6 · Services 75.0 · Rents 53.8
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Hot Springs, AR's index of 85.7.
AR-relative analysis
Goods prices places Hot Springs, AR near the bottom of AR's metros
Among the 5 AR metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Hot Springs, AR ranks #2 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Hot Springs, AR only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#2 of 5
0th percentile in AR
Services prices
#4 of 5
20th percentile in AR
Rent prices
#3 of 5
40th percentile in AR
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within AR only, not a livability score.
Other AR Metros
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR 91.4 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 89.4 Fort Smith, AR-OK 85.9 Jonesboro, AR 85.9
View all AR metros → Cheapest in AR → Most expensive in AR →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
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What this means for Hot Springs
How to read Hot Springs's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $116,645 in Hot Springs. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 57.3, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Hot Springs head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Hot Springs, AR?
Hot Springs, AR has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 85.7, meaning it is 14.3% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.6, services at 74.3, and rents at 57.3. It ranks #373 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Hot Springs, AR to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $85,730 in Hot Springs, AR. Conversely, $100K earned in Hot Springs, AR has the purchasing power of $116,645 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Hot Springs, AR?
Rents in Hot Springs, AR are indexed at 57.3, which is 42.7% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Hot Springs, AR getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Hot Springs, AR's overall cost index changed by -0.9 points (from 86.7 to 85.7). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Hot Springs, AR?
The priciest category in Hot Springs, AR is goods at 93.6, 6.4% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 57.3, 42.7% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Hot Springs, AR?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Joplin, Alexandria, Gadsden. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Hot Springs, AR's 85.7.
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.