Philadelphia, PA vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Philadelphia to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $87,444 in Little Rock, AR (−$12,556).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($223 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $14,952 | −$8,016 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,655 | −$254 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,405 | −$35 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,524 | −$792 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,800 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $8,521 | −$1,671 |
| Total | $45,025 | $35,856 | −$9,169 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $116 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |