Moving to Arkansas from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Pennsylvania to Arkansas — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Arkansas, you would find that Arkansas is 16.0% cheaper than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $63,000 in Arkansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and Little Rock are about 1,000 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Arkansas? Get a shortlist of towns in Arkansas that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Arkansas cheaper than Pennsylvania?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 3.3% more
Groceries
pay 17.6% less
Transportation
pay 24.9% less
Housing
pay 14.4% less
Childcare
pay 45.2% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.2% 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 → $63,000
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 6% less than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania performs 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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Arkansas than Pennsylvania?
Generally yes: Arkansas runs about 16% cheaper than Pennsylvania 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 $15,750 in Arkansas for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Arkansas safe?
Pennsylvania performs better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Arkansas compared to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania performs better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Arkansas compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Little Rock is 72°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Little Rock receives around 50.0 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
