2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Chicago Metro, IL-IN to Little Rock Metro, AR

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$80,800
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-19.2%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$1,118
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$9,732
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$10,850/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

COL 125.8
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,805
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,375
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$21,360
Discretionary Cash Flow $53,015
Target Market
Destination Location

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

COL 101.7
Gross Parity Income $80,800
Federal Income Tax -$8,946
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,181
State Income Tax -$2,616
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $63,057
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $51,429

EPI family budgets put living costs 19.2% lower in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR than in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, so $100,000 in Chicago goes about as far as $80,800 in Little Rock. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,780 a month in Chicago and $969 in Little Rock, $9,732 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $1,118 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Little Rock. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $10,850 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $54,720 in Chicago and $45,790 in Little Rock.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (Monthly) Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,780$969-$811-45.6%
Food & Groceries$385$343-$42-10.9%
Transportation$947$1,052+$105+11.1%
Healthcare$416$481+$65+15.6%
Other Necessities$572$382-$190-33.2%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,135$2,042-$93-4.4%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$811/mo (-45.6%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $1,780/mo Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $969/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$890/mo (-44.3%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $2,011/mo Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $1,121/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$5.34/hr (-19.2%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $27.82/hr Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $22.48/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$4.93/hr (-20.3%)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin: $24.26/hr Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $19.33/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Median Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$109,390$76,080-$33,310 (-30.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$100,490$81,070-$19,420 (-19.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,360$65,810-$16,550 (-20.1%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$168,810$119,360-$49,450 (-29.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$134,380$104,070-$30,310 (-22.6%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$105,090$75,750-$29,340 (-27.9%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$158,690$102,300-$56,390 (-35.5%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,760$129,700-$44,060 (-25.4%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$48,230$48,360+$130 (+0.3%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$105,320$73,480-$31,840 (-30.2%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$102,350$48,200-$54,150 (-52.9%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$123,090$101,280-$21,810 (-17.7%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Relocation FAQs

About $80,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Relocation: Chicago Metro, IL-IN to Little Rock Metro, AR Overview

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Chicago Metro, IL-IN to Little Rock Metro, AR compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to match $100,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

About $80,800. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (125.8 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR cheaper than Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 19.2% lower in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR than in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.