Baltimore, MD vs Fayetteville, AR
Moving from Baltimore to Fayetteville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $368,497 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Fayetteville at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $88,628 in Fayetteville, AR (−$11,372).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Fayetteville, AR: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville ($214 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Fayetteville, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $19,128 | −$3,900 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,655 | −$420 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,405 | −$280 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,524 | −$864 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $2,800 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $8,682 | −$2,902 |
| Total | $47,160 | $40,193 | −$6,967 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Fayetteville, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 91.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 3.55% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $368,497 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 5.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $184 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,594 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 0.60% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |