South ranking
9 Arkansas cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 76
Index 86
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
| # | City | Cost index | Median rent | Median income | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Smith | 76 | $798/mo | $50,799 | 89K | Compare → |
| 2 | Jonesboro | 77 | $871/mo | $51,124 | 78K | Compare → |
| 3 | Conway | 82 | $942/mo | $54,036 | 65K | Compare → |
| 4 | North Little Rock | 82 | $995/mo | $49,166 | 64K | Compare → |
| 5 | Little Rock | 82 | $1,006/mo | $58,697 | 202K | Compare → |
| 6 | Springdale | 86 | $920/mo | $59,985 | 87K | Compare → |
| 7 | Fayetteville | 86 | $944/mo | $56,881 | 95K | Compare → |
| 8 | Rogers | 86 | $1,113/mo | $78,075 | 70K | Compare → |
| 9 | Bentonville | 86 | $1,151/mo | $99,074 | 55K | Compare → |
Why do people move to Arkansas? The most common reasons line up with what the data and geography support: affordable across the board, there's a genuinely cheap city to fall back on. The rest is below.
Averaging across the Arkansas cities we track, the composite cost-of-living index lands at about 83 — roughly 17% under the US baseline. That's not a quirk of one or two outlier towns; it shows up across most of the state. Average median rent across Arkansas cities runs about $971/mo.
The cheapest city in Arkansas we have data for is Fort Smith, sitting at a cost-of-living index of 76 — about 24% under the US average. If affordability is the priority, Arkansas gives you a real option, not a "well, this town is technically here" caveat.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Arkansas (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Arkansas, Fort Smith is the most affordable city we track (cost index 76, with median rent around $798/mo), while Bentonville sits at the top of the range with an index of 86—roughly 13% pricier than Fort Smith. Use the table above to compare any Arkansas city directly against Fort Smith.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.