Compare / El Paso to Little Rock
El Paso, TX vs Little Rock, AR
Simple answer
You'd likely save $25 a month in Little Rock.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 3.0 points (El Paso 71.2, Little Rock 68.3).
Texas has no tax on wages. Arkansas taxes wages at rates up to 3.90%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.3 percentage points, higher in Arkansas. The effective property tax gap is 0.80 percentage points, higher in Texas.
After a move from Texas to Arkansas, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in El Paso lines up with about $74,543 in Little Rock on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
El Paso
El Paso, TX
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,146
- HUD area
- El Paso, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,081
- All-items price parity
- 89.9
- Goods price parity
- 93.8
- Utilities price parity
- 82.6
- Mean commute
- 24.3 min
- Median household income
- $59,834
Little Rock
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,121
- HUD area
- Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,093
- All-items price parity
- 89.4
- Goods price parity
- 93.6
- Utilities price parity
- 74.6
- Mean commute
- 23.2 min
- Median household income
- $68,344
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$74,543
Salary in Little Rock that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$78,517
Gross salary in Little Rock whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$73,364
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Texas | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | No wage tax | up to 3.90% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 8.2% | 9.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.31% | 0.52% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $5,246 a year in Texas and $2,065 in Arkansas. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Arkansas
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Texas and once in Arkansas. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
WIC
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
School meals
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
LIHEAP
El PasoMaybe
Little RockMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
El PasoLikely eligible
Little RockLikely eligible
SSI
El PasoUnlikely
Little RockUnlikely
| Program | El Paso | Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Likely eligible | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In El Paso the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In Little Rock it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” Arkansas expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From El Paso
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from El Paso.
- El Paso and San Francisco · rent gap $2,551
- El Paso and San Jose · rent gap $2,126
- El Paso and Boston · rent gap $1,862
- El Paso and New York · rent gap $1,825
- El Paso and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,818
- El Paso and San Diego · rent gap $1,677
- El Paso and Miami · rent gap $1,418
- El Paso and Seattle · rent gap $1,403
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.