Indianapolis, IN vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Indianapolis to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($295,921 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis, IN, you'd need about $94,569 in Little Rock, AR (−$5,431).
Livability — Indianapolis, IN: 71 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($156 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Indianapolis, IN | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,636 | $14,952 | −$3,684 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,655 | −$85 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,405 | +$155 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,524 | −$408 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,800 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $7,367 | $8,521 | +$1,154 |
| Total | $37,525 | $35,856 | −$1,669 |
Side by side
| Metric | Indianapolis, IN | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.28% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $295,921 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $156 | $116 |
| Median rent | $1,553 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |