PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Hot Springs, AR

43.1
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#290
of 387 metros
25%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Hot Springs ranks #290 of 387 US metros, ahead of 25% - carried by its cost of living (96/100) and held back most by wages (1/100).

96
strongest: Cost of Living
84
then: Rent
1
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Hot Springs sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

43 25th percentile higher than 25% 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%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Hot Springs Life Score

Hot Springs's composite score of 43.1 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #290 of 387, ahead of 25% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (96/100) and Rent (84/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (1/100) and Safety (5/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 85.7 (rent-RPP 57.3). BLS median salary $51,849, 33,280 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,090/mo (studio $829).

FBI UCR (AR): 580 violent, 1940 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 9.6% charter. EPA: 17 Superfund sites (AR). Ranks #287-#293 below.

Dimension detail

How Hot Springs scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 96/100 (20%)
Wages 1/100 (20%)
Rent 84/100 (15%)
Safety 5/100 (15%)
Schools 20/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 40/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$51,849
Avg Median Salary
$1,090
2BR Fair Market Rent
580
Violent Crime/100K (AR)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
17
Superfund Sites (AR)
33,280
Total Employment

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

Compare Hot Springs With...

Hot Springs vs Texarkana Compare → Hot Springs vs Memphis Compare → Hot Springs vs Jonesboro Compare → Hot Springs vs Wildwood Compare → Hot Springs vs Waterloo Compare → Hot Springs vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Hot Springs outranks 25% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#287 Yuba City, CA 43.3 C
#288 Chambersburg, PA 43.4 C
#289 Urban Honolulu, HI 43.6 C
#290 Hot Springs, AR 43.1 C
#291 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 43.1 C
#292 Medford, OR 43.1 C
#293 Sherman-Denison, TX 43.1 C

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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR C- 40.8 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR D 35.7

Using Hot Springs's Life Score

Hot Springs 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 (96/100) and its weakest is wages (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Hot Springs head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Hot Springs 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 Hot Springs's biggest strengths? ▼
Hot Springs's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (96/100), Rent (84/100), Environment (40/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Hot Springs's weakest areas? ▼
Hot Springs's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (1/100), Safety (5/100), Schools (20/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Hot Springs compared to the national average? ▼
Hot Springs's Regional Price Parity is 85.7 (14.3% less than national); rent RPP 57.3.
What is the average salary in Hot Springs? ▼
Hot Springs median salary: $51,849, 33,280 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Hot Springs's 43.1/100 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.