Seattle, WA vs Little Rock, AR
Moving from Seattle to Little Rock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $231,039 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $79,401 in Little Rock, AR (−$20,599).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Little Rock, AR: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 4,329 sqft in Little Rock ($417 vs $116 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Little Rock, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $14,952 | −$11,832 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,655 | −$750 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,405 | −$670 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,524 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,800 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $8,521 | −$305 |
| Total | $48,138 | $35,856 | −$12,282 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Little Rock, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 89.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 2.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $231,039 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $116 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,246 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |