Moving to Pennsylvania from Arkansas
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Arkansas to Pennsylvania — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Arkansas to Pennsylvania, you would find that Pennsylvania is 19.0% more expensive than Arkansas. A $75,000 salary in Arkansas would need to be roughly $89,300 in Pennsylvania to maintain the same lifestyle. Little Rock and Philadelphia are about 1,000 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Pennsylvania? Get a shortlist of towns in Pennsylvania that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Pennsylvania cheaper than Arkansas?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 3.2% less
Groceries
pay 21.3% more
Transportation
pay 33.2% more
Housing
pay 16.8% more
Childcare
pay 82.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.6% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Pennsylvania?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $89,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Pennsylvania
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Pennsylvania cost about 7% more than cities in Arkansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Arkansas to Pennsylvania.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arkansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Pennsylvania leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arkansas generally does better on infrastructure, though Pennsylvania leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Arkansas across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Arkansas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Pennsylvania vs Arkansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Little Rock | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Little Rock | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) |
| Feb | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Mar | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) |
| May | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) |
| Jul | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Oct | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Pennsylvania than Arkansas?
No — Pennsylvania is on average about 19% more expensive than Arkansas. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Pennsylvania?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $22,325 in Pennsylvania on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Pennsylvania safe?
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Pennsylvania compared to Arkansas?
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Pennsylvania compared to Arkansas?
The average high temperature in Philadelphia is 65°F, compared to 72°F in Little Rock. Philadelphia receives around 41.5 in of rainfall per year, while Little Rock gets 50.0 in.
