New York, NY vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from New York to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
New York vs Little Rock 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $79,462 in Little Rock, AR (−$20,538).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($455 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $14,952 | −$27,084 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,655 | −$760 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,405 | −$490 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,524 | −$1,656 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,800 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $8,521 | −$14,975 |
| Total | $79,622 | $35,856 | −$43,765 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $116 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |