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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Veterans' benefits — pension, VA disability, GI Bill — stretch farther in some cities. We ranked 1 cities in Arkansas on cost, state tax burden, and healthcare. Little Rock leads with index 68 and 3.9% state tax.
Veterans' benefits — pension, VA disability, GI Bill — stretch farther in some cities. We ranked 1 cities in Arkansas on cost, state tax burden, and healthcare. Little Rock leads with index 68 and 3.9% state tax.
At $1,171/month for rent and a cost index of 68, Little Rock is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $60,583. That tracks. No gimmicks — just good numbers.
Look, 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. One to watch.
#1 Ranked: Little Rock — cost index 68, rent $1,171/mo, income $60,583
Veteran scoring: cost index 68, state tax 3.9%, healthcare index 94 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
203,842 residents · Arkansas
The numbers for Little Rock are straightforward: 68 on the cost index, $1,171/month rent, $60,583 income. Not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. That tracks.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Rock | 68 | $1,171 | Details |
Little Rock ranks #1 in Arkansas for this analysis with a cost index of 68 and median income of $60,583.
Little Rock scores highest for military veterans 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.