Little Rock, AR vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Little Rock to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,039 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Little Rock vs Tampa 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 $114,482 in Tampa, FL (+$14,482).
Livability — Little Rock, AR: 69 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,329 sqft in Little Rock vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($116 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Little Rock, AR | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $14,952 | $24,216 | +$9,264 |
| Groceries | $4,655 | $4,949 | +$294 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $4,800 | +$1,395 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,656 | +$132 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $4,200 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $8,521 | $4,642 | −$3,878 |
| Total | $35,856 | $44,463 | +$8,606 |
Side by side
| Metric | Little Rock, AR | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.5 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.6% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $231,039 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $116 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,246 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |