2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$82,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-17.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,687
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$6,804
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$3,117/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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

COL 123.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$0
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $79,180
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,432
Discretionary Cash Flow $60,748
Target Market
Destination Location

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

COL 101.7
Gross Parity Income $82,700
Federal Income Tax -$9,364
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$6,327
State Income Tax -$2,690
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $64,319
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $52,691

EPI family budgets put living costs 17.3% lower in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, so $100,000 in Dallas goes about as far as $82,700 in Little Rock. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,536 a month in Dallas and $969 in Little Rock, $6,804 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,687 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Little Rock. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $3,117 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $51,440 in Dallas 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (Monthly) Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,536$969-$567-36.9%
Food & Groceries$342$343+$1+0.3%
Transportation$1,011$1,052+$41+4.1%
Healthcare$459$481+$22+4.8%
Other Necessities$582$382-$200-34.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$1,735$2,042+$307+17.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$567/mo (-36.9%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,536/mo Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $969/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$686/mo (-38.0%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $1,807/mo Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $1,121/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$4.72/hr (-17.4%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $27.20/hr Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $22.48/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$3.59/hr (-15.7%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: $22.92/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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Median Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$111,010$76,080-$34,930 (-31.5%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$101,420$81,070-$20,350 (-20.1%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$133,290$104,070-$29,220 (-21.9%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$98,900$73,480-$25,420 (-25.7%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$82,620$65,810-$16,810 (-20.3%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$173,810$129,700-$44,110 (-25.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$169,200$119,360-$49,840 (-29.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$144,290$102,300-$41,990 (-29.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$48,200-$10,810 (-18.3%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$127,360$88,610-$38,750 (-30.4%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$102,860$75,750-$27,110 (-26.4%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,640$101,280-$20,360 (-16.7%)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

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Relocation FAQs

About $82,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Relocation: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX to Little Rock Metro, AR Overview

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 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: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

About $82,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (123.0 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 17.3% lower in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR than in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.