Fayetteville, AR vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Fayetteville to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($368,497 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Fayetteville vs Tampa 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 $112,054 in Tampa, FL (+$12,054).
Livability — Fayetteville, AR: 66 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($184 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fayetteville, AR | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,128 | $24,216 | +$5,088 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,949 | +$294 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $4,800 | +$1,395 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,656 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $4,200 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $8,682 | $4,642 | −$4,039 |
| Total | $40,193 | $44,463 | +$4,269 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fayetteville, AR | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.55% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $368,497 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,594 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.60% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |