Phoenix, AZ vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Phoenix to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $85,511 in Little Rock, AR (−$14,489).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($242 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $14,952 | −$5,952 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $4,655 | −$264 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,405 | −$555 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,524 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $2,800 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $8,521 | +$1,241 |
| Total | $40,531 | $35,856 | −$4,675 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $116 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $62 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 7.2 | 49.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 8.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |