Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Little Rock might be more expensive than living in rural Arkansas, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
So what exactly are those Little Rock neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Little Rock are the cheapest.
Here are the cheapest neighborhoods in Little Rock for 2020:
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Little Rock for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Central High looks to be the cheaptest Little Rock neighborhood to live in.
At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Little Rock. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Little Rock that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Little Rock.
Once you’re done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Arkansas
- Best Counties To Live In Arkansas
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
How We Determined The Cheapest Little Rock Hoods In 2020
In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Little Rock, we had to determine what criteria defines “cheap”.
Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 27 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Little Rock.” We’re lookin’ at you, Central High.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the cheapest places Little Rock. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Little Rock For 2020
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Population: 2,212
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (1st cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (10th cheapest)
More on Central High: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Central High comes in at $26,625 and the median home value is $63,350 for 2020.
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Population: 6,834
Cost Of Living Index: 90 (14th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (7th cheapest)
More on Otter Creek Crystal: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Otter Creek Crystal comes in at $50,648 and the median home value is $118,180 for 2020.
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Population: 3,232
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (20th cheapest)
More on East Of I-30: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in East Of I-30 comes in at $31,557 and the median home value is $70,520 for 2020.
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Population: 3,738
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (16th cheapest)
More on 65th Street West: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in 65th Street West comes in at $35,436 and the median home value is $79,650 for 2020.
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Population: 3,594
Cost Of Living Index: 83 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (21st cheapest)
More on South End: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in South End comes in at $26,956 and the median home value is $62,900 for 2020.
/10
Population: 2,070
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.0 (19th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (3rd cheapest)
More on South Geyer Springs: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in South Geyer Springs comes in at $36,572 and the median home value is $111,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 4,024
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (24th cheapest)
More on Wakefield: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Wakefield comes in at $30,114 and the median home value is $67,000 for 2020.
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Population: 7,364
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (1st cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.028 (27th cheapest)
More on Oak Forest: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Oak Forest comes in at $28,045 and the median home value is $61,427 for 2020.
/10
Population: 14,605
Cost Of Living Index: 99 (24th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.4 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.007 (2nd cheapest)
More on Rock Creek: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Rock Creek comes in at $86,290 and the median home value is $205,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 5,944
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (14th cheapest)
More on Cloverdale Watson: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Cloverdale Watson comes in at $34,833 and the median home value is $85,467 for 2020.
Summing Up The Cheapest Places In Little Rock
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Little Rock where prices are low and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Little Rock aren’t all cheap. Capital View-Stiff takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Little Rock.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Arkansas reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In Arkansas
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Arkansas
- Best Places To Retire In Arkansas
- Richest Cities In Arkansas
- Safest Places In Arkansas
- Worst Places To Live In Arkansas
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Little Rock For 2020
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central High | 81 |
| 2 | Otter Creek Crystal | 90 |
| 3 | East Of I-30 | 84 |
| 4 | 65th Street West | 85 |
| 5 | South End | 83 |
| 6 | South Geyer Springs | 85 |
| 7 | Wakefield | 84 |
| 8 | Oak Forest | 84 |
| 9 | Rock Creek | 99 |
| 10 | Cloverdale Watson | 86 |
| 11 | West Markham | 94 |
| 12 | Chicot West | 87 |
| 13 | John Barrow | 88 |
| 14 | River Mountain | 102 |
| 15 | Reservoir | 96 |
| 16 | Big Dickinson Lake | 85 |
| 17 | Upper Baseline | 85 |
| 18 | Westwood-Pecan Lake | 92 |
| 19 | Midtown | 97 |
| 20 | Walnut Valley | 94 |
| 21 | Boyle Park | 90 |
| 22 | Stephens | 86 |
| 23 | Briarwood | 93 |
| 24 | Hillcrest | 104 |
| 25 | Heights | 121 |
| 26 | Downtown | 92 |
| 27 | Capital View-Stiff | 95 |
