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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 1 cities in Arkansas for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Little Rock leads: rent $1,171/mo — for better or worse — , index 89, population 203,842.
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 1 cities in Arkansas for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Little Rock leads: rent $1,171/mo — for better or worse — , index 89, population 203,842.
Little Rock earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 89 cost index sits 23 points below the national baseline, and the $60,583 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $214,773 — $252,597 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 71, while Healthcare trails at 91.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers. The math checks out.
#1 Ranked: Little Rock — cost index 89, rent $1,171/mo, income $60,583
Singles scoring: rent $1,171/mo (solo housing), cost index 89, population 203,842 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
203,842 residents · Arkansas
What does daily life actually cost in Little Rock? Start with the 23% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. It lines up with what you'd expect. On the category level, Housing (index 71) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 91) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $60,583 and homes at $214,773 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Rock | 89 | $1,171 | Details |
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to singles. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Little Rock ranks #1 in Arkansas for this analysis with a cost index of 89 and median income of $60,583.
Little Rock scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,171/mo, and competitive median income of $60,583.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Little Rock is $1,171/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $724 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Little Rock is $214,773, which is 3.5× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Arkansas has a 3.9% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 9.47%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.57%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.