Fayetteville, AR vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Fayetteville to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($368,497 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Fayetteville vs Baltimore 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 Fayetteville, AR, you'd need about $112,831 in Baltimore, MD (+$12,831).
Livability — Fayetteville, AR: 66 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($184 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fayetteville, AR | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,128 | $23,028 | +$3,900 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $5,075 | +$420 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,685 | +$280 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $2,388 | +$864 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,400 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $8,682 | $11,584 | +$2,903 |
| Total | $40,193 | $47,160 | +$6,967 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fayetteville, AR | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.5 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.55% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $368,497 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,594 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.60% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |