Columbus, OH vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Columbus to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Columbus 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 Columbus, OH, you'd need about $94,589 in Little Rock, AR (−$5,411).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($202 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $14,952 | −$3,336 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,655 | −$51 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,405 | +$380 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,524 | −$576 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $8,521 | −$1,190 |
| Total | $39,130 | $35,856 | −$3,274 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $116 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $62 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 49.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 8.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |