Little Rock, AR vs Portland, OR
Moving from Little Rock to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,039 → $552,022 median home) and taxes.
Little Rock vs Portland 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 $119,220 in Portland, OR (+$19,220).
Livability — Little Rock, AR: 69 · Portland, OR: 55 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,329 sqft in Little Rock vs 1,540 sqft in Portland ($116 vs $325 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Little Rock, AR | Portland, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,952 | $21,564 | +$6,612 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $5,240 | +$585 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,680 | +$275 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,704 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $900 | −$1,900 |
| Taxes | $8,521 | $14,382 | +$5,862 |
| Total | $35,856 | $47,470 | +$11,614 |
Side by side
| Metric | Little Rock, AR | Portland, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.5 | 106.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 5.06% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.6% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $6.07 |
| Median home price | $231,039 | $552,022 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -1.1% |
| Price per square foot | $116 | $325 |
| Median rent | $1,246 | $1,797 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |