Charlotte, NC vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Charlotte to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,321 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Charlotte vs Little Rock 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 Charlotte, NC, you'd need about $91,972 in Little Rock, AR (−$8,028).
Livability — Charlotte, NC: 66 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,561 sqft in Charlotte vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($195 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charlotte, NC | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,880 | $14,952 | −$5,928 |
| Groceries | $4,834 | $4,655 | −$179 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,405 | +$275 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,524 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,800 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $8,521 | −$219 |
| Total | $41,336 | $35,856 | −$5,480 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charlotte, NC | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.71% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.0% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $390,321 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.1× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $116 |
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |