Little Rock, AR vs Denver, CO
Moving from Little Rock to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,039 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Little Rock vs Denver 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 Little Rock, AR, you'd need about $118,163 in Denver, CO (+$18,163).
Livability — Little Rock, AR: 69 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,329 sqft in Little Rock vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($116 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Little Rock, AR | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,952 | $22,920 | +$7,968 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $5,079 | +$424 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $4,050 | +$645 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,788 | +$264 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,800 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,521 | $9,828 | +$1,307 |
| Total | $35,856 | $46,464 | +$10,608 |
Side by side
| Metric | Little Rock, AR | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.5 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $231,039 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $116 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,246 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |