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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Young professionals don't just need cheap — they need opportunity. We scored 1 cities across Arkansas on income, market size, and transport costs. Little Rock ($60,583 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — median income, 203,842 people) ranks #1 for 2026.
#1 Ranked: Little Rock — cost index 89, rent $1,171/mo, income $60,583
Young-professional scoring: income $60,583, population 203,842 (job market depth), transport index 84
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Rock | 89 | $1,171 | Details |
Young professionals don't just need cheap — they need opportunity. We scored 1 cities across Arkansas on income, market size, and transport costs. Little Rock ($60,583 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — median income, 203,842 people) ranks #1 for 2026.
Here's Little Rock by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 89. Rent: $1,171/month. Income: $60,583/year. Home price: $214,773. Population: 203,842. The strongest category is Housing at 71; the most expensive is Healthcare at 91. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,688 per year vs. the national median. This is an advantage that compounds over time (your mileage may vary — literally).
For young professionals, we weight income potential highest (20pts) — early career earnings compound over decades. Population comes next (15pts) as a proxy for job market depth: more employers means more opportunity. Transport costs (10pts) matter because most early-career workers are car-dependent. Little Rock leads with $60,583 median income and 203,842 residents (that's pre-tax, of course).
Stepping back, State context matters: Arkansas's 1 cities average a 89 cost index with $1,171/month median rent and $60,583 household income. One of the nation's most affordable states. The table is nice. That tracks. The insights below it are nicer.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And on balance, 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. Hard to argue with that.
203,842 residents · Arkansas
Why Little Rock ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 89 on the cost index, residents save roughly 23% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,171/month while the median household pulls in $60,583/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 71, though Healthcare (91) lags behind. Home prices average $214,773 — $252,597 below the national median.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to young professionals. 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 young professionals 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.