Overview of Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is an important Southern landmark with an often-overlooked history, not far from major cities but worlds away from big-city life. The city was named for “la petite roche” — or the “little rock” — that French explorer Bernard de la Harpe noticed on the banks of the Arkansas River in 1722. Less than 100 years later, this “little trading post” would become the state capital.
The contemporary city of Little Rock is now the state’s largest. Over the past decade, the population has grown modestly, and today, 203,842 residents call the city home. The centrally located capital is less than three hours from Fayetteville, two hours from Memphis and two-and-a-half hours from the Oklahoma border, with easy access to Nashville, St. Louis and beyond.
The Arkansas River, the railroads and three major interstates have given the city many geographic advantages, and Little Rock has capitalized on these to build a robust industry around trade and logistics. This has helped fuel its historically strong manufacturing sector, as well. Corporate giants like Kimberly-Clark and Tyson are supported by freight operations like Union Pacific, as are distribution centers for Dillard’s and Wal-Mart. But advanced manufacturing and FinTech leaders like FIS are also a part of Little Rock’s economic fabric now. One thing is for sure — Little Rock’s roots may be deep, but its future is growing skyward.
The city’s cultural appeal is both embedded within its historic neighborhoods and celebrated in its modern institutions. From centuries-old homes to newly renovated museum spaces, everywhere you look, there is something to enjoy in the capital city. Indoors, there are destinations like the Arkansas Museum of Art and, of course, the Clinton Presidential Center, where you can learn more about the nation’s 42nd president and Arkansas’ former governor. The outdoor scene in Little Rock is equally rich. Between the Little Rock Zoo, the city parks and the state parks, there are endless miles of hiking and biking paths along the riverfront and through the forested trails of the Ouachita Mountains. With a landscape this rich and inviting, the view from your own backyard is likely to be as enticing as any in Little Rock’s public greenspaces.
If you are looking for a Southern city with a low cost of living and high cultural appeal, you might want to consider moving to Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more about this historic state capital below in our guide to Little Rock, including the job market, outdoor attractions and locals’ favorite places to hang out in the city.
Little Rock’s Cost of Living
One of Little Rock’s most practical selling points is its affordability. Real estate prices in the Arkansas state capital are far lower than the national average. The median home value in the city is $205,800 and rent averages only a hair above $1,000/mo. Compared to other popular cities in the state, Little Rock’s housing costs fall somewhere in the middle. Springdale prices are roughly the same as Little Rock’s, but prices in the college town of Fayetteville and nearby Bentonville are much higher — $291,000 and up. Statewide, home values are far lower, though, averaging just $162,400 — that’s $120,000 below the national average — and smaller cities like Hot Springs struggle to reach even that modest mark.
Across the South, household expenditures on transportation, food, healthcare, personal insurance/pensions and miscellaneous items are also lower than national spending rates. But income levels in most Arkansas cities are also lower. Bentonville is the exception. The median household income in this home of Wal-Mart is nearly $100,000 a year, and none of the aforementioned cities, including Little Rock, has a median of more than $60,000 — that’s $15,000 below the U.S. average.
Employment and Economy in Little Rock
If you’re considering moving to Little Rock for your career, you might be pleasantly surprised by how diversified the job market in the Arkansas state capital has become. The city has long been known as a hub for manufacturing and trade, supplying everything from popular cosmetics to private jets. But the city has laid out the welcome mat for newcomers, too, breathing new life into this historic city.
In the traditional manufacturing arena, Tyson, Hostess, Hormel, Kimberly-Clark and Caterpillar continue to produce essential products for the American consumer, and their workforces are still some of the largest in the city. The foreign trade zone at the Port of Little Rock makes it easy for large outfits to produce consumer goods and ship their products all over the globe. But Little Rock is no stranger to new industries and technologies. Advanced manufacturers like Molex, which produces flexible, printed circuits and cables, and Coorstech, which manufactures technical ceramics used in everything from orthopedic to aerospace & defense applications, are just two of the metro Little Rock outfits spurring global technological progress.
Similarly, financial giant FIS, which maintains an operation in the Arkansas capital, launched a FinTech accelerator program that has had widespread success, building on the foundation of Arkansas-born companies like Stephens and Simmons to mentor exciting new startups like DIRO and Lama.
Trade, transportation and utilities is still Little Rock’s single biggest sector, supplying nearly 78,000 jobs in the city. Between the state capitol and Little Rock Air Force Base, it’s little wonder that the government is the second-largest industry in the city. The education and healthcare services sector is roughly the same size, and each sector employs upwards of 67,000 individuals in the metro area. We should also note that the professional and business services sector has seen remarkable growth over the past year, expanding 6.2% between August of 2023 and 2024 to employ 51,200 residents.
Little Rock’s higher education institutions are also a vital engine of the local economy. Schools like the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Philander Smith College, a small HBCU, give locals access to a great education close to home and help train the next generation of workers. Additionally, institutions like the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital — a leading pediatric facility — help provide essential healthcare services and are two of the largest single employers in the city.
Thanks to this diverse palette of economic support, unemployment rates in the capital have bucked national trends, remaining below 4% for months. In August of 2024, the unemployment rate in Little Rock stood at just 3.2% while the U.S. rate rose to 4.2%.
Recreation and Culture in Little Rock
Parks and Outdoors
If you want to see the actual “little rock” the city was named for, you can’t beat the views at Riverfront Park. This urban green space is close to several popular downtown destinations, including the Old State House Museum, the Museum of Discovery, and the Clinton Presidential Center. But the park’s amenities, like the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and concerts in the amphitheater, make it a popular destination. Meandering pathways throughout the 39 acres and the treehouse and adventure park are very popular with the smaller set.
Adventure-seekers can get a rugged outdoor experience without ever leaving the confines of the city, thanks to the Arkansas River Trail. This 15-mile loop connects most of Little Rock’s Parks, and many of those have great mountain biking trails within them. The Narrows Trail in River Mountain Park offers a thrilling ride to the most advanced riders, but there are plenty of beginner’s trails to learn on, too. Two Rivers Park is a paddler’s paradise, and an outfitter can hook you up with a kayak if you don’t want to BYO.
At the confluence of the Arkansas, Little Maumelle and Big Maumelle Rivers, Pinnacle Mountain State Park is one of the easiest retreats to reach just outside the city. The park is a designated part of the National Trail of Tears Monument — Little Rock was first inhabited by the Quapaw — and it’s also home to the Arkansas Arboretum. The 22 miles of wonderfully shady hiking and biking trails are a treat on heels or wheels, and you can even try your hand at rock climbing if you dare.
The famous town of Hot Springs is only an hour from Little Rock, and the historic bathhouses there are still one of the best places to soak your troubles away. Hiking trails will ferry you around the Ouachita Mountains and up to the Hot Spring Mountain Tower, and you can take in a cool drink of the famous mineral water at various points throughout the city.
Museums and Historical Sites
With such a deep and varied history, there is a lot of ground to cover in Little Rock’s past. The U.S. Civil Rights Trail, which includes several stops in the city, is a great place to start. Little Rock Central High School — now a National Historic Site — marks one of the ugliest moments in the nation’s history, when the governor of Arkansas attempted to forcibly block the integration of the state’s public schools. The nine brave Black students who risked their lives to attend class in the face of angry, white mobs have been immortalized in a monument at the Arkansas State Capitol. President Clinton bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on the Little Rock Nine in 1999.
Speaking of which, presidential and political history buffs will certainly want to visit the Clinton Presidential Center and Park. This 30-acre site contains the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum and provides a fascinating look at the nation’s 42nd leader, from his family life to his domestic policies and the international humanitarian achievements of the Clinton Global Initiative.
With elaborate Victorian clapboards in the Quapaw Quarter and weathered commercial buildings in the old Garment District, Little Rock’s neighborhoods hold a special history all their own. There are antebellum mansions, like the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House, modern marvels like the Barney Elias House, and post-WWII prefabs, like the Lustron House in Oak Forest, which is distinguished by its unusual, enameled steel walls on the interior. Although many wonderful buildings — both modest and grand — have been lost over the years, it’s hard to find a spot in Little Rock that doesn’t speak to the city’s past.
One building that holds a special history all its own is the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. This museum of African American history is housed in what was once a vital center of the Black community in Little Rock. The institution celebrates the significant cultural contributions and achievements of Little Rock’s Black residents, from the economic success of the West Ninth Street Business District to individual triumphs, like Dr. Edith Irby, the first African American — man or woman — to graduate from the University of Arkansas Medical School, which was still segregated at the time.
Arts and Entertainment
Little Rock isn’t all about the past, but some entertainment venues have been around almost long enough to have earned a spot on the national historic registry. The Arkansas Skatium, for instance, was established in 1979, and while skating trends have come and gone, the Skatium has lived on as the Natural State’s only ice rink/roller rink combo. If fussing with skates has been keeping you off the rink, the Skatium can acquaint you with the goofball art of broomball, which is a bit like playing ice hockey in your sneakers.
Just outside the city, Wildwood Park for the Arts combines botanical beauty with the performing arts. You can see musicals, like Disney’s popular theatre production “Newsies,” or do some catch-and-release fishing in Swan Lake. Waders will prove more useful than toe shoes in this production. Visualists will love spending time at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, which has great works by modernists like Diego Rivera and Louise Nevelson but also has a particularly fine collection of works by contemporary regional artists like Raven Halfmoon. The Children’s Theatre on site is the only such outfit in the state, and they know how to put on a show for young audiences. You should be sure to scope out Little Rock’s art gallery scene, too, at venues like M2 in the SOMA district and Boswell Mourot Fine Art.
When you’re looking for family fun from A to Z, your first stop should be at the alligator habitat at the Little Rock Zoo. These ancient, aquatic reptiles are just one of the many friends you’ll meet at this fine park, which also has anteaters, maned wolves, red river hogs and gorgeously spotted servals. You can also sign up for several behind-the-scenes experiences, like the veterinary tour, which gives you a close look at animal care at the zoo.
Planning for the Move to Little Rock
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Wonder what living in the Natural State is really like? Our Moving Guide to Arkansas will give you an insider’s look at this Southern gem.
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