Fayetteville composite
35.7 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Fayetteville vs Jonesboro
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR and Jonesboro, AR side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 35.7
- Fayetteville Life Score
- D
- Fayetteville grade
- 45.1
- Jonesboro Life Score
- C
- Jonesboro grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Fayetteville scores higher on 2 (wages, safety) and Jonesboro on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Fayetteville vs Jonesboro across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Fayetteville Jonesboro ◗
cost of living
67
96
wages
31
4
rent
45
90
safety
5
4
schools
19
20
childcare
0
0
environment
30
45
Fayetteville and Jonesboro differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Fayetteville has a cost-of-living index of 91.4 vs Jonesboro's 85.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $59,645 in Fayetteville and $55,412 in Jonesboro. A 2-bedroom averages $1,347/mo vs $1,040/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Fayetteville vs Jonesboro Comparison
Fayetteville (AR) and Jonesboro (AR) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 91.4 for Fayetteville against 85.9 for Jonesboro, a 5.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,347/mo in Fayetteville and $1,040/mo in Jonesboro, a $307/mo difference that compounds to $3,684 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $59,645 across 257,840 jobs in Fayetteville against $55,412 across 55,350 jobs in Jonesboro. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Fayetteville carries the same local purchasing power as $94,005 in Jonesboro - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 580.1 per 100,000 residents in AR vs 580.1 in AR, with property-crime rates of 1939.5 and 1939.5 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: AR lists 1,069 public schools at a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while AR lists 1,069 schools at 13.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Fayetteville and Jonesboro are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Jonesboro composite
45.1 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
5.5 pts
Fayetteville vs Jonesboro BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$307 /mo
Fayetteville priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Fayetteville
Fayetteville composite (Grade D)
Jonesboro
Jonesboro composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Fayetteville | Jonesboro |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 91.4 | 85.9 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.6 |
| Services | 75.1 | 75.0 |
| Rents | 76.9 | 53.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Jonesboro gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Fayetteville?
$
Equivalent in Jonesboro:
$94,005
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Fayetteville: 91.4, Jonesboro: 85.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Fayetteville | Jonesboro |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,007/mo | $805/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,115/mo | $870/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,347/mo | $1,040/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,873/mo | $1,402/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,213/mo | $1,480/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Fayetteville | Jonesboro |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $59,645 | $55,412 |
| Total Employment | 257,840 | 55,350 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Fayetteville (AR) | Jonesboro (AR) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 580.1 | 580.1 |
| Property Crime | 1939.5 | 1939.5 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | AR | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,069 | 1,069 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.6:1 | 13.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 9.6% | 9.6% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | AR | AR |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 428 | 428 |
| Water Systems | 667 | 667 |
| Superfund Sites | 17 | 17 |
| Water Violations | 5,811 | 5,811 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Fayetteville | Jonesboro |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 41.0 | 43.1 |
| Good Air Days | 83.1% | 69.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | N/A |
Jonesboro air quality shown at state level. Fayetteville has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | AR | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 7/100 | 7/100 |
| Total Violations | 53,437 | 53,437 |
| Health-Based Violations | 21,598 | 21,598 |
| Systems with Violations | 94.5% | 94.5% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | AR | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 1/100 | 1/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 98.6% | 98.6% |
| HPSA Designations | 351 | 351 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | AR | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 56/100 | 56/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 55.5 | 55.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 47.4 | 47.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fayetteville more expensive than Jonesboro? ▼
Fayetteville has a cost of living index of 91.4 compared to Jonesboro's 85.9 (national average = 100). Fayetteville is 5.5 points above Jonesboro on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Fayetteville and Jonesboro? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,347/mo in Fayetteville vs $1,040/mo in Jonesboro, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,007/mo to $805/mo.
How do salaries compare between Fayetteville and Jonesboro? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $59,645 in Fayetteville and $55,412 in Jonesboro, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Fayetteville has the same purchasing power as $94,005 in Jonesboro.
Is Fayetteville or Jonesboro safer? ▼
At the state level, AR has a violent crime rate of 580.1 per 100,000 residents compared to AR's 580.1 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1939.5 vs 1939.5 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Fayetteville and Jonesboro? ▼
AR has 1,069 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, while AR has 1,069 schools at 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 9.6% of AR schools vs 9.6% in AR. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial