What salary do you need to live in Jonesboro, AR?

The cost side of living in Jonesboro

Median gross rent, meaning contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities, runs $725, $921 and $1,137 a month for one, two and three bedrooms across Jonesboro, AR. The largest of those is 57% more than the smallest.

On the ownership side, the typical owner-occupied home is valued at $192,200. That is only 3.4× the area's median household income of $56,738, a low ratio by national standards.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 85.9 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Jonesboro has the buying power of roughly $116,447 at national average prices.

Income needed for each grade in Jonesboro

For two bedrooms, $86,000 is where Jonesboro turns Comfortable. Below that, $43,000 marks the start of Okay and $20,000 the start of Tight; under $20,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 13% of gross pay.

The Royal grade is within reach at $219,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Jonesboro.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Jonesboro

Take a $75,000 salary. In a one-bedroom the rent share is 12% and the score 65, Comfortable; in a three-bedroom the share rises to 18% and the score falls to 58, Okay.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $100,000 row. One row up, $75,000 scores 61.

How Jonesboro ranks among 387 metros

Ranked against all 387 metros, Jonesboro sits 371st on overall price level and 348th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 318th.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Charleston, WV ($924) and Owensboro, KY ($921).

Jonesboro in a Arkansas context

How Jonesboro stacks up against its state: $921 for a two-bedroom against Arkansas's $907, $192,200 for the median home against $188,000, and a price level of 85.9 against 86.9.

On statewide medians, a two-bedroom budget reaches Comfortable at $86,000 — the same as Jonesboro's $86,000 line.

Looking for somewhere comparable without leaving Arkansas? Texarkana, TX-AR, Hot Springs, AR, and Fort Smith, AR-OK have the closest mix of rent and overall prices.

Does the typical Jonesboro income clear the bar?

The median household in the metro earns $56,738 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 53, Okay. That falls $29,262 short of the $86,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. Statewide, the Arkansas median household ($60,773) grades Okay on the state's own medians. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.