Moving to Arkansas from North Carolina
What to Expect
Considering a move from North Carolina to Arkansas? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from North Carolina to Arkansas, you would find that Arkansas is 14.1% cheaper than North Carolina. A $75,000 salary in North Carolina would need to be roughly $64,400 in Arkansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Charlotte and Little Rock are about 650 mi apart.
Is Arkansas cheaper than North Carolina?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 6.4% more
Groceries
pay 24.3% less
Transportation
pay 19.7% less
Housing
pay 13.2% less
Childcare
pay 19.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.5% less
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 Arkansas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $64,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Arkansas
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 Arkansas cost about 17% less than cities in North Carolina.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Arkansas compared to North Carolina.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
North Carolina 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
North Carolina generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Arkansas leads in uninsured 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 North Carolina leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
North Carolina 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
North Carolina 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
North Carolina 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
Weather in Arkansas vs North Carolina
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Charlotte | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/34°F (14°/1°C) | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/56°F (26°/13°C) | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 86°/65°F (30°/18°C) | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/40°F (17°/4°C) | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Charlotte | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51°/30°F (10.4°/-1.3°C) | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) |
| Feb | 55°/33°F (12.8°/0.4°C) | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) |
| Mar | 63°/39°F (17.3°/4.1°C) | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) |
| Apr | 72°/47°F (22.2°/8.3°C) | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) |
| May | 79°/56°F (26.1°/13.2°C) | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.1°C) | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) |
| Jul | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.1°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 87°/67°F (30.8°/19.6°C) | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) |
| Sep | 81°/60°F (27.4°/15.8°C) | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) |
| Oct | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) |
| Nov | 62°/39°F (16.9°/4.0°C) | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) |
| Dec | 53°/32°F (11.6°/-0.1°C) | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Arkansas than North Carolina?
On average Arkansas is about 14% less expensive than North Carolina, with major cities narrowing the gap.
How much money do I need to move to Arkansas?
Budget about $16,100 for 3 months in Arkansas (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Arkansas safe?
North Carolina performs better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Arkansas compared to North Carolina?
North Carolina generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Arkansas leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Arkansas compared to North Carolina?
The average high temperature in Little Rock is 72°F, compared to 71°F in Charlotte. Little Rock receives around 50.0 in of rainfall per year, while Charlotte gets 41.7 in.
