Compression Ratio

For my goal, do I really need more than a 9.5:1 cr? I'm not going for big power, but I do want an improvement over stock.
9-1 is just fine. Pump gas friendly and you can still us a very small cam. Honestly, don’t focus on the ratio any. The biggest power gain is within the cylinder heads. That doesn’t mean you should run out and put trick flows on top an upgraded 340 cam and a 8.8 ratio.

The percentage gain/loss of compression ratios is general and build dependent.