Moving from Texas to Arkansas: Cost & Tax Comparison
Compare state income tax savings, HUD rent differentials, and household purchasing power adjustments when relocating from Texas to Arkansas.
Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology
What changes when you move from Texas to Arkansas
Texas has no state income tax on wages and Arkansas has graduated income tax rates up to 3.9%. On a $100,000 salary a single filer pays $0 in state income tax in Texas and $3,687 in state income tax in Arkansas. With federal income tax and FICA unchanged, total tax rises by $3,687 a year after the move. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent averages $1,035 a month across Texas's metro areas and $841 across Arkansas's (-18.7%). Pay differs too: the BLS median wage across all occupations, weighted by employment in each state's metros, is $49,204 in Texas and $44,653 in Arkansas. City and county income taxes, which some localities add, are not included in these state-level figures; the metro routes below include them.
Metropolitan Corridors Between Texas & Arkansas
Moving from Texas to Arkansas on a $100,000 salary: pay $3,687 more in total taxes per year; average one-bedroom rent is $841 vs $1,035 a month (HUD FMR).
Quick answers
For a single filer earning $100,000 with no local income tax, total federal, FICA and state taxes are $3,687 higher in Arkansas than in Texas (3.7 percentage points of gross pay). The average HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent across Arkansas's metros is $841 a month, versus $1,035 in Texas (-18.7%). Taxes and one-bedroom rent combined change by -$1,361 a year.
Texas: No State Income Tax, top rate 0%. Arkansas: Graduated Brackets, top rate 3.9%. Federal income tax and FICA are the same in both states.