Is Arkansas a Good Deal or a Trade-off?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#40

40th out of 50 states overall.

Among the weaker states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#3

3rd cheapest state, about 21% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $59,300 here.

How we measure cost ›

Arkansas ranks 40th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 3rd for affordability. It does best on cost, climate, and green space, and struggles most with healthcare, dog friendly, and safety. A typical household earns about $58,600 a year, and the cost of living runs about 21% below average.

Why Arkansas ranks #40 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Arkansas scores on each, best to worst.

Cost of living
#3 of 50
Climate
#24 of 50
Green space
#26 of 50
Air quality
#35 of 50
Education
#41 of 50
Economy
#42 of 50
Walkability
#42 of 50
Healthcare
#45 of 50
Dog friendly
#45 of 50
Safety
#46 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Arkansas at a glance

Typical household income

$58,600

50th highest

Typical home price

$220,000

49th highest

Overall cost of living

21% below average

3rd cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 6%

35th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 22 min

one way

Taxes in Arkansas

See your real Arkansas take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Arkansas taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.