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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
On a student budget, the math is brutal: loans, part-time income, zero margin. You get the picture. We ranked 1 cities in Arkansas on rent, food costs, and overall affordability. Little Rock leads with rent at $1,171/mo and a food index of 89.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Rock | 68 | $1,171 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Little Rock — cost index 68, rent $1,171/mo, income $60,583
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,171/mo, food index 89, cost index 68 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
On a student budget, the math is brutal: loans, part-time income, zero margin. You get the picture. We ranked 1 cities in Arkansas on rent, food costs, and overall affordability. Little Rock leads with rent at $1,171/mo and a food index of 89.
Student affordability boils down to three survival metrics: rent under $1,200/month (25pts), overall cost index (20pts), and food costs (10pts). Little Rock leads at $1,171/month rent with a food index of 89 — 11% below the national food cost baseline.
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. On the category level, Housing (index 68) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 94) 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.
If you only look at rent, it's perfect. Zoom out and it's complicated. In Little Rock, the healthcare index sits at 94 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
Look, Bottom line: Little Rock leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
203,842 residents · Arkansas
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 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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
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 students 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.