Little Rock, AR vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Little Rock to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,039 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Little Rock vs Philadelphia 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 $114,359 in Philadelphia, PA (+$14,359).
Livability — Little Rock, AR: 69 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,329 sqft in Little Rock vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($116 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Little Rock, AR | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,952 | $22,968 | +$8,016 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,909 | +$254 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,440 | +$35 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $2,316 | +$792 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,200 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $8,521 | $10,192 | +$1,672 |
| Total | $35,856 | $45,025 | +$9,169 |
Side by side
| Metric | Little Rock, AR | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.5 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.6% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $231,039 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $116 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,246 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |