Fayetteville, AR vs Providence, RI
Moving from Fayetteville to Providence? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($368,497 → $524,867 median home) and taxes.
Fayetteville vs Providence 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 $111,002 in Providence, RI (+$11,002).
Livability — Fayetteville, AR: 66 · Providence, RI: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville vs 1,524 sqft in Providence ($184 vs $328 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fayetteville, AR | Providence, RI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,128 | $25,956 | +$6,828 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,922 | +$267 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,875 | +$470 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $3,060 | +$1,536 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,700 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $8,682 | $13,121 | +$4,440 |
| Total | $40,193 | $52,634 | +$12,440 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fayetteville, AR | Providence, RI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.5 | 101.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.55% | 5.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $368,497 | $524,867 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $328 |
| Median rent | $1,594 | $2,163 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 11.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 5.99% |
| Property tax rate | 0.60% | 1.31% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 28.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $92 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $67 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 21 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 47.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 36.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |