PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR

35.7
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#366
of 387 metros
5%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Fayetteville ranks #366 of 387 US metros, ahead of 5% - carried by its cost of living (67/100) and held back most by safety (5/100).

67
strongest: Cost of Living
45
then: Rent
5
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Fayetteville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

36 5th percentile higher than 5% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Fayetteville Life Score

Fayetteville's composite score of 35.7 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #366 of 387, ahead of 5% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (67/100) and Rent (45/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (5/100) and Schools (19/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 91.4 (rent-RPP 76.9). BLS median salary $59,645, 257,840 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,347/mo (studio $1,007).

FBI UCR (AR): 580 violent, 1940 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 9.6% charter. EPA: 17 Superfund sites (AR). Ranks #363-#369 below.

Dimension detail

How Fayetteville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 67/100 (20%)
Wages 31/100 (20%)
Rent 45/100 (15%)
Safety 5/100 (15%)
Schools 19/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 30/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,645
Avg Median Salary
$1,347
2BR Fair Market Rent
580
Violent Crime/100K (AR)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
17
Superfund Sites (AR)
257,840
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Fayetteville With...

Fayetteville vs Texarkana Compare → Fayetteville vs Memphis Compare → Fayetteville vs Jonesboro Compare → Fayetteville vs Wildwood Compare → Fayetteville vs Waterloo Compare → Fayetteville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Fayetteville outranks 5% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#363 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 36.3 D
#364 Fairbanks-College, AK 36.4 D
#365 Chico, CA 36.5 D
#366 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR 35.7 D
#367 Santa Fe, NM 35.7 D
#368 Billings, MT 35.6 D
#369 Missoula, MT 35.2 D

AR Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Memphis, TN-MS-AR C+ 47.4 Jonesboro, AR C 45.1 Fort Smith, AR-OK C 44.4 Hot Springs, AR C 43.1 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR C- 40.8

Using Fayetteville's Life Score

Fayetteville is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (67/100) and its weakest is safety (5/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Fayetteville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Fayetteville lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Fayetteville's biggest strengths? ▼
Fayetteville's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (67/100), Rent (45/100), Wages (31/100).
What are Fayetteville's weakest areas? ▼
Fayetteville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (5/100), Schools (19/100), Environment (30/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Fayetteville compared to the national average? ▼
Fayetteville's Regional Price Parity is 91.4 (8.6% less than national); rent RPP 76.9.
What is the average salary in Fayetteville? ▼
Fayetteville median salary: $59,645, 257,840 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Fayetteville's 35.7/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.