State cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Cost of Living in Arkansas
Statewide Regional Price Parities for Arkansas from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100, across 5 metro areas.
- 86.9
- Statewide RPP
- #51
- of 51 states by cost
- 58.2
- Rents RPP
- 5
- Metro areas
Arkansas ranks #51 of 51 states by cost, and its statewide price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- rose +0.1 points in the 2023-2024 release
- similar cost to Mississippi
The verdict
Arkansas costs less than 99% of U.S. states, a statewide index of 86.9, 13.1% below the national average.
- Rents
- furthest category from 100, at 58.2
- Mississippi
- closest statewide cost peer, 0.0 points away
- Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
- highest-cost metro, 91.4
- Hot Springs
- lowest-cost metro, 85.7
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $115,026 when earned in Arkansas.
Reading the Arkansas Cost of Living Picture
Arkansas sits in an affordability lane closest to Mississippi, Iowa, Oklahoma. A lower statewide index does not mean every place or budget category is cheap; it means this state belongs with those peers before a household narrows to a metro. The highest category and Rents are 35.4 points apart, so the statewide average joins two materially different household experiences.
Arkansas captures 5 metro areas in the BEA dataset, and the range across them is meaningful. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR leads on cost at 91.4, while Hot Springs, AR sits at the opposite end at 85.7 - a gap of 5.6 index points inside a single state. For goods the state indexes at 93.6, for services 74.7, and for rents 58.2. Rents run 28.7 points below the statewide index here, so housing is what pulls the whole figure down — a household that already owns outright captures much less of that discount than a renter does.
Over time, Arkansas's statewide index has held steady within 1.2 points, suggesting a stable competitive position against other states. Practically, this means a $100,000 national salary delivers the purchasing power of about $115,026 of national buying power when earned inside Arkansas, and a household relocating here would need roughly $86,937 to reproduce a $100K lifestyle. With 5 reporting metros inside the state, treat this figure as the midpoint of a range rather than a quote for any one address.
Metro areas in Arkansas, ranked by cost
| # | Metro area | Overall | Goods | Services | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | 91.4 | 93.6 | 75.1 | 76.9 |
| 2 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway | 89.4 | 93.6 | 74.6 | 68.3 |
| 3 | Fort Smith | 85.9 | 93.6 | 73.8 | 53.4 |
| 4 | Jonesboro | 85.9 | 93.6 | 75.0 | 53.8 |
| 5 | Hot Springs | 85.7 | 93.6 | 74.3 | 57.3 |
The Rents RPP index measures housing costs relative to the national average (100). For the federal 40th-percentile Fair Market Rent by bedroom size and county, see the HUD Fair Market Rents dataset.
Arkansas vs every U.S. state
Where this state sits in the national cost distribution
87 Bottom 1% higher than 1% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. 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
Arkansas RPP history, 2008–2024
The statewide index has changed by only 1.2 points from 2008 to 2024. The line shows every retained BEA release against the national benchmark of 100; the table preserves the component detail.
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 88.1 |
| 2009 | 86.4 |
| 2010 | 88.6 |
| 2011 | 89.4 |
| 2012 | 89.4 |
| 2013 | 89.5 |
| 2014 | 89.4 |
| 2015 | 89.0 |
| 2016 | 89.3 |
| 2017 | 88.6 |
| 2018 | 87.1 |
| 2019 | 87.7 |
| 2020 | 88.2 |
| 2021 | 88.9 |
| 2022 | 86.9 |
| 2023 | 86.8 |
| 2024 | 86.9 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Arkansas's overall RPP rose +0.1 points, from 86.8 in 2023 to 86.9 in 2024. The largest category move was services, changing from 81.9 to 74.7. RPP is a relative price index, so this reports a change against the national benchmark rather than a household's dollar bill.
What this means in Arkansas
The statewide index is a starting point, cost varies metro to metro within Arkansas.
- Don't rely on the state figure alone: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers (91.4) and Hot Springs (85.7) sit 6 index points apart inside Arkansas. Check your specific metro.
- Rents index at 58.2 (41.8% below average) - the largest swing in the RPP. Review the housing line before any relocation decision. Highest rents
- Weighing Arkansas against another state? Convert your salary to local purchasing power first. Salary calculator
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark (national average = 100) for the data year shown, pair it with local wages and current rents before deciding.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact state profile. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive rankings, cost of living vs wages, and how BEA constructs RPP data.
States with Similar Cost of Living
These states have RPP indices closest to Arkansas, making them useful peers for relocation or budget comparison.
Nationwide states with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Arkansas: nearest states by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are labelled nationwide neighborhoods, distinct from the closest-RPP list above.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest states by overall regional price parity (86.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest states by rents regional price parity (58.2 here).
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities Index where national average = 100
Frequently Asked Questions
How much cheaper is living in Arkansas than the U.S. average?
Arkansas has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 86.9, meaning it is 13.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.6, services at 74.7, and rents at 58.2.
What salary in Arkansas equals $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $86,937 in Arkansas. Conversely, $100K earned in Arkansas has the purchasing power of $115,026 at the national average.
How much of Arkansas's affordability is rents?
Rents in Arkansas are indexed at 58.2, which is 41.8% below the national average. The state is relatively affordable for renters.
Which is the most expensive metro in Arkansas?
The most expensive metro area in Arkansas is Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR with an RPP of 91.4. The most affordable is Hot Springs, AR at 85.7. There are 5 metro areas in Arkansas with BEA price data.
Is Arkansas getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Arkansas's overall cost index changed by -1.2 points (from 88.1 to 86.9). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
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 2024. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.