2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Little Rock Metro, AR to Houston-Pasadena, TX

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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$105,600
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+5.6%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$3,687
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$3,504
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$183/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

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

COL 101.7
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,687
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $75,493
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,628
Discretionary Cash Flow $63,865
Target Market
Destination Location

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

COL 107.4
Gross Parity Income $105,600
Federal Income Tax -$14,402
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$8,078
State Income Tax $0 (No State Tax)
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $83,120
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$15,132
Discretionary Cash Flow $67,988

EPI family budgets put living costs 5.6% higher in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, so $100,000 in Little Rock goes about as far as $105,600 in Houston. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $969 a month in Little Rock and $1,261 in Houston, $3,504 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,687 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Houston. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $183 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $45,790 in Little Rock and $49,410 in Houston.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway (Monthly) Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$969$1,261+$292+30.1%
Food & Groceries$343$321-$22-6.4%
Transportation$1,052$1,015-$37-3.5%
Healthcare$481$422-$59-12.3%
Other Necessities$382$480+$98+25.7%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,042$1,735-$307-15.0%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$292/mo (30.1%)
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $969/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,261/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$376/mo (33.5%)
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $1,121/mo Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $1,497/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$1.27/hr (5.6%)
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $22.48/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $23.75/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$1.25/hr (6.5%)
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: $19.33/hr Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands: $20.58/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Median Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$76,080$119,600+$43,520 (+57.2%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$81,070$99,830+$18,760 (+23.1%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$73,480$99,510+$26,030 (+35.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$65,810$85,090+$19,280 (+29.3%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$104,070$129,440+$25,370 (+24.4%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$48,200$59,180+$10,980 (+22.8%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$119,360$166,910+$47,550 (+39.8%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$59,940$63,180+$3,240 (+5.4%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$102,300$135,880+$33,580 (+32.8%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$48,360$46,630-$1,730 (-3.6%)View Dossier
Construction ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$84,110$103,530+$19,420 (+23.1%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$47,440$57,940+$10,500 (+22.1%)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

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Relocation FAQs

About $105,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
Relocation: Little Rock Metro, AR to Houston-Pasadena, TX Overview

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR to Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: Little Rock Metro, AR to Houston-Pasadena, TX 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX to match $100,000 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR?

About $105,600. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (101.7 in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, 107.4 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX cheaper than Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 5.6% higher in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX than in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.