Fayetteville, AR vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Fayetteville to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($368,497 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Fayetteville vs Philadelphia 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 $111,933 in Philadelphia, PA (+$11,933).
Livability — Fayetteville, AR: 66 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($184 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fayetteville, AR | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,128 | $22,968 | +$3,840 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,909 | +$254 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,440 | +$35 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $2,316 | +$792 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,200 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $8,682 | $10,192 | +$1,511 |
| Total | $40,193 | $45,025 | +$4,832 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fayetteville, AR | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.5 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.55% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $368,497 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,594 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.60% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |