Fayetteville, AR vs Chicago, IL
Moving from Fayetteville to Chicago? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($368,497 → $353,998 median home) and taxes.
Fayetteville vs Chicago 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 $112,068 in Chicago, IL (+$12,068).
Livability — Fayetteville, AR: 66 · Chicago, IL: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville vs 2,402 sqft in Chicago ($184 vs $208 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fayetteville, AR | Chicago, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,128 | $27,192 | +$8,064 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $5,215 | +$560 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,550 | +$145 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $2,208 | +$684 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,900 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $8,682 | $14,141 | +$5,460 |
| Total | $40,193 | $54,206 | +$14,013 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fayetteville, AR | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.55% | 6.19% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $368,497 | $353,998 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 4.4% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $208 |
| Median rent | $1,594 | $2,266 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.60% | 2.11% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |