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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. And depending on your situation, which Arkansas city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 1 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. Little Rock leads at cost index 68 with a utilities index of 90.
#1 Ranked: Little Rock — cost index 68, rent $1,171/mo, income $60,583
Remote-worker scoring: cost index 68, utilities index 90, income $60,583 — maximizing geographic arbitrage
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Rock | 68 | $1,171 | Details |
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. And depending on your situation, which Arkansas city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 1 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. Little Rock leads at cost index 68 with a utilities index of 90.
Why Little Rock ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 68 on the cost index, residents save roughly 43% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,171/month — for better or worse — while the median household pulls in $60,583/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 68, though Healthcare (94) lags behind. Home prices average $214,773 — $252,597 below the national median.
Remote workers profit from geographic arbitrage. Our model scores cost index (20pts), local income as a proxy for economic infrastructure (15pts), and utility costs (10pts) — because when your living room is your office, reliable affordable internet and power matter. Little Rock scores highest with a 68 cost index and 90 utilities index.
The state-level view adds helpful context here. Arkansas — one of the nation's most affordable states. The 1 cities we track here average a cost index of 68 and median income of $60,583. It's a clear buyer's market compared to national norms. The typical rent runs $1,171/month, which is $724 less than the national median.
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.
203,842 residents · Arkansas
Here's Little Rock by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 68. Rent: $1,171/month. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. Income: $60,583/year. Home price: $214,773. Population: 203,842. The strongest category is Housing at 68; the most expensive is Healthcare at 94. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,688 per year vs. the national median. That's a meaningful edge in practice.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to remote workers. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Arkansas by this personalized metric. 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 68 and median income of $60,583.
Little Rock scores highest for remote workers 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.