Moving to Arkansas from Indiana
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Indiana to Arkansas — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Indiana to Arkansas, you would find that Arkansas is 2.5% cheaper than Indiana. A $75,000 salary in Indiana would need to be roughly $73,100 in Arkansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Little Rock averages 72°F vs 62°F in Indianapolis, making it significantly warmer.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Indiana to Arkansas.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $73,100
To maintain the same standard of living in Arkansas
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 12.8% more
Groceries
pay 5.3% less
Transportation
pay 10.8% less
Housing
pay 2.8% less
Childcare
pay 10.4% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.4% 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.
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 Arkansas cost about 1% less than cities in Indiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Indiana and Arkansas stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Indiana performs 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
Indiana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Arkansas leads in adult obesity rate.
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 Indiana leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Indiana generally does better on infrastructure, though Arkansas leads in average commute.
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
Indiana performs 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
Indiana performs 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
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Indianapolis | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/53°F (22°/12°C) | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/63°F (27°/17°C) | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Indianapolis | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35°/21°F (1.7°/-6.1°C) | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) |
| Feb | 40°/24°F (4.4°/-4.4°C) | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) |
| Mar | 51°/33°F (10.8°/0.8°C) | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) |
| Apr | 63°/44°F (17.1°/6.4°C) | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) |
| May | 72°/53°F (22.5°/11.7°C) | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) |
| Jun | 81°/63°F (27.4°/17.4°C) | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) |
| Jul | 84°/67°F (28.8°/19.2°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 83°/65°F (28.4°/18.3°C) | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) |
| Sep | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) |
| Oct | 64°/45°F (18.0°/7.3°C) | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) |
| Nov | 52°/36°F (11.0°/2.3°C) | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) |
| Dec | 38°/25°F (3.6°/-3.9°C) | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Arkansas than Indiana?
Generally yes: Arkansas runs about 3% cheaper than Indiana on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Arkansas?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,275 in Arkansas for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Arkansas safe?
Indiana performs better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Arkansas compared to Indiana?
Indiana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Arkansas leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Arkansas compared to Indiana?
The average high temperature in Little Rock is 72°F, compared to 62°F in Indianapolis. Little Rock receives around 50.0 in of rainfall per year, while Indianapolis gets 40.8 in.
