PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

40.8
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#316
of 387 metros
18%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Little Rock ranks #316 of 387 US metros, ahead of 18% - carried by its cost of living (78/100) and held back most by safety (4/100).

78
strongest: Cost of Living
73
then: Rent
4
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Little Rock sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

41 18th percentile higher than 18% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Little Rock Life Score

Little Rock's composite score of 40.8 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #316 of 387, ahead of 18% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (78/100) and Rent (73/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (4/100) and Wages (10/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 89.4 (rent-RPP 68.3). BLS median salary $57,042, 350,410 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,147/mo (studio $984).

FBI UCR (AR): 580 violent, 1940 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 9.6% charter. EPA: 17 Superfund sites (AR). Ranks #313-#319 below.

Dimension detail

How Little Rock scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 78/100 (20%)
Wages 10/100 (20%)
Rent 73/100 (15%)
Safety 4/100 (15%)
Schools 21/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 54/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$57,042
Avg Median Salary
$1,147
2BR Fair Market Rent
580
Violent Crime/100K (AR)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
17
Superfund Sites (AR)
350,410
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Little Rock With...

Little Rock vs Texarkana Compare → Little Rock vs Memphis Compare → Little Rock vs Jonesboro Compare → Little Rock vs Wildwood Compare → Little Rock vs Waterloo Compare → Little Rock vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Little Rock outranks 18% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#313 Eugene-Springfield, OR 40.9 C-
#314 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 41.0 C-
#315 Stockton-Lodi, CA 41.3 C-
#316 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 40.8 C-
#317 Lancaster, PA 40.8 C-
#318 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 40.8 C-
#319 Corvallis, OR 40.7 C-

AR Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Memphis, TN-MS-AR C+ 47.4 Jonesboro, AR C 45.1 Fort Smith, AR-OK C 44.4 Hot Springs, AR C 43.1 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR D 35.7

Using Little Rock's Life Score

Little Rock is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (78/100) and its weakest is safety (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Little Rock head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Little Rock lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Little Rock's biggest strengths? ▼
Little Rock's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (78/100), Rent (73/100), Environment (54/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Little Rock's weakest areas? ▼
Little Rock's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (4/100), Wages (10/100), Schools (21/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Little Rock compared to the national average? ▼
Little Rock's Regional Price Parity is 89.4 (10.6% less than national); rent RPP 68.3.
What is the average salary in Little Rock? ▼
Little Rock median salary: $57,042, 350,410 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Little Rock's 40.8/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.