Little Rock, AR vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Little Rock to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,039 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Little Rock vs Kansas City 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 $104,126 in Kansas City, MO (+$4,126).
Livability — Little Rock, AR: 69 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,329 sqft in Little Rock vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($116 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Little Rock, AR | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,952 | $18,576 | +$3,624 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,828 | +$173 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,390 | −$15 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,512 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,400 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $8,521 | $10,526 | +$2,006 |
| Total | $35,856 | $41,232 | +$5,375 |
Side by side
| Metric | Little Rock, AR | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.5 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.6% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $231,039 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $116 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,246 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |