Detroit, MI vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Detroit to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $91,163 in Little Rock, AR (−$8,837).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($163 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $14,952 | −$3,048 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,655 | −$241 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,405 | −$1,170 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,524 | −$792 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $8,521 | −$1,026 |
| Total | $40,634 | $35,856 | −$4,778 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $116 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |