Pittsburgh, PA vs Fayetteville, AR
Moving from Pittsburgh to Fayetteville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $368,497 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Fayetteville 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 Pittsburgh, PA, you'd need about $96,562 in Fayetteville, AR (−$3,438).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Fayetteville, AR: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 2,714 sqft in Fayetteville ($132 vs $184 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Fayetteville, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $19,128 | +$804 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,655 | −$260 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,405 | −$35 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,524 | −$792 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,800 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $8,682 | +$613 |
| Total | $38,264 | $40,193 | +$1,929 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Fayetteville, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 91.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 3.55% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $368,497 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 5.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $184 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,594 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 0.60% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |