Little Rock, AR vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Little Rock to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,039 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Little Rock vs Seattle 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 $125,942 in Seattle, WA (+$25,942).
Livability — Little Rock, AR: 69 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,329 sqft in Little Rock vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($116 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Little Rock, AR | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,952 | $26,784 | +$11,832 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $5,405 | +$750 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $4,075 | +$670 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,548 | +$24 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,500 | −$1,300 |
| Taxes | $8,521 | $8,826 | +$306 |
| Total | $35,856 | $48,138 | +$12,282 |
Side by side
| Metric | Little Rock, AR | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.5 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.6% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $231,039 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $116 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,246 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |