Discovering Little Rock, Arkansas
Nestled in the rolling terrain of the Ozark Mountains, Little Rock is a historic city in the heart of the South. Named for the smaller of two boulders spied by an early French explorer on the banks of the Arkansas River, Little Rock may occasionally wish it had been named for a stone of more impressive size. But as many Arkansawyers can attest, there are far worse monikers to hold in the Natural State. Right now, you could be considering a move to Accident, Arkansas, Smackover, Arkansas, Beav-o-Rama, or — heaven forbid — Booger Hollow.
Diminutively named but superlative, Little Rock is as charming as it is cosmopolitan, filled with wonderful cultural centers, inspiring and historic neighborhoods and great places to shop and eat. The Little Rock Zoo and the Discovery Museum are kid-friendly faves, while the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and the River Market District host events the entire community can enjoy. The capital city was once home to the Clinton family, and the library and museum of the nation’s 42nd president and Arkansas’ former governor is one of the most beautiful spots in the city.
If your family is into the outdoors, there are plenty of spots to soak up the scenery. Mountain bikers and cyclists will revel in the spoils of this cycling-friendly state, especially the rugged paths at Pinnacle Mountain, which also has great spots for rock climbing. Anglers will adore Lake Maumelle, which is just minutes outside the city. And for a longer escape, you can take a drive up to Woolly Hollow State Park for a weekend camping trip.
Twice as large as any other city in Arkansas, each year, more and more people are discovering Little Rock’s appeal. More than 200,000 people call the city their own, and 10,000 people have moved to the Arkansas state capital in the last 10 years alone, lured by the low cost of living, the friendly neighborhoods and the stable job market.
If you’re moving from the Midwest or the East Coast, you might find Little Rock’s mild Southern climate easy to adapt to, whether you’re enjoying the fireflies on a warm summer evening from your screened-in porch or a cozied up in urban perch overlooking the Arkansas River, watching eastern kingbirds migrate after the brisk winter nights have passed.
If you are looking for a mid-size Southeastern city with a down-to-earth vibe and rich cultural appeal, Little Rock may be the city for you. Learn more about the capital city below in our moving guide to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Living in Little Rock
Cost of Living: A Pleasant Surprise
Among Little Rock’s many appeals is its affordable cost of living. While real estate prices in the capital are higher than the state average, they are far lower than the national average and lag far behind the cost of housing in Arkansas hubs like Fayetteville and Bentonville.
The median home value in Little Rock is just $205,800, and the median gross rent is a mere $1,006, making this city of 200,000 a desirable place to call home. Another benefit to living in this region of the country is that other common household expenses are typically lower in the South, including those for food ($8,443), transportation ($11,932), healthcare ($5,376), insurance/pensions ($7,422) and miscellaneous expenses ($10,909).
The downside is that wages in the Little Rock area are also far lower than the U.S. average. Hourly wages in the Arkansas state capital average only $26.09/hr., compared with a U.S. rate of $31.48/hr., and the median household income in Little Rock is only $58,697 — nearly $20,000 below the national average, and more than $40,000 lower than the average household earnings in Bentonville. Something to keep in mind if you’re weighing the pros and cons of living in Little Rock versus other cities in Arkansas.
Job Market: Diverse and Stable
Little Rock is a capital city, a military town and an economic hub for Arkansas. Diverse industries have capitalized on the foreign trade zone here, which supports many of the manufacturing outfits in the city, as well as the transportation sector. And, in this central Arkansas city, trade, transportation and utilities are the single largest one, supplying nearly 78,000 jobs across the six counties in the greater Little Rock area. With 69,500 employees, the government is — not surprisingly — the second-largest sector in the capital, and education and health services is a close third, employing nearly 67,000 people — a 3.7% uptick between August of 2023 and 2024.
Professional and business services and financial activities make up a sizeable chunk of the Little Rock workforce, however. These two sectors combined supply nearly 80,000 jobs and both industries expanded over the past twelve months.
Underscoring the stability of Little Rock’s job market is its low unemployment rate. While the U.S. rate swelled to 4.5%, the city kept its unemployment rate at only 3.6%.
And where do Little Rock residents work? The city’s corporate base has manufacturing stalwarts like Hormel, Caterpillar and Kimberly-Clark, but Little Rock’s FinTech and advanced manufacturing base are also growing, with companies like Stephens, Coorstech, Molex and Simmons leading the way.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) are two of the largest single employers in the region, and both provide top-notch medical care. Schools like Philander Smith University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are both an economic and cultural boon to the city. PSU was founded in 1877, and this HBCU continues to be a vital part of the Little Rock Community. UA Little Rock is a leading research university in the region, best known for its programs in engineering, nursing, legal writing and applied design. UA’s flagship is less than 200 miles away in Fayetteville.
And, if you’re doing business elsewhere in the region, it’s good to know that Memphis is only a two-hour drive away. The borders of Texas and Oklahoma are less than two-and-a-half hours away, and you can have your feet soaking in Hot Springs in less than an hour’s drive from your Little Rock home.
Neighborhoods for Every Lifestyle
Downtown Little Rock encompasses a broad and beautiful swath of the city, comprising historic areas like the Quapaw Quarter, important sites like the Arkansas State Capitol and the Old State House — a destination on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail — and greenspaces along the Arkansas River. Kids (and adults, too) will love the interactive exhibits at the Discovery Museum, where they can feel the forces of nature in the tornado and earthquake exhibits, meet rescued animals and make things go whoosh, bang and pop to their hearts’ content. MacArthur Park is one of downtown’s most-visited spots because it contains so many popular destinations — the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Firehouse Museum & Hostel, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History and a fully accessible playground.
The northwest suburb of Hillcrest was Little Rock’s first, and the area is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This walkable district is filled with charming houses dating back more than a century, and it’s easy to get to your favorite coffee shop, restaurant or park on foot or bicycle. Hillcrest is known for its community events, from pancake breakfasts to the annual pumpkin roll and HarvestFest, which draws thousands from around the state. One of the quirkier gatherings is the Mrs. Roper Romp, where residents are invited to don their favorite muumuus, statement glasses and red curls for a tribute to TV’s favorite landlady. Our favorite thing to do in Hillcrest is go for a hike in Allsopp Park and then treat ourselves to a half slab at Wright’s Barbeque, where those juicy ribs, chicken and bacon burnt ends are all smoked with fallen pecan trees from central Arkansas.
The nearby neighborhood of the Heights is adjacent to the Arkansas River, and some homes in this tiny area have a prime view of the water. It’s a quick jaunt to get to Rebsamen Golf Course or Murray Park, and the Arkansas River Trail is right at your backdoor for morning jogs. Zaza is one of our favorite neighborhood haunts in the Heights, but that’s because we have a weakness for Neapolitan pizza and gelato. The spicy Atomica is topped with Sicilian anchovies, capers and sriracha, and you can cool down your tastebuds afterward with a cone of dulce de leche or limoncello sorbet. We’re also big fans of the Taco & Tamale Co., which blends Southern flavors with Tex-Mex staples for some inspired mashups, like the pickle-fried chicken tacos that are topped with chow-chow and pico or the sweet potato delta tamale, filled with black beans, corn and chipotle. Don’t forget the tamale pie dip.
These neighborhoods are just two of the reasons to love West Little Rock, a suburban district where you’ll find great shopping, restaurants and entertainment venues. In the Chenal Valley, you’ll find the Promenade — a premier outdoor mall — but also the Wildwood Park for the Arts, which hosts major performances and the annual Lanterns Festival each spring. Tree-huggers will love visiting the Arkansas Arboretum, located in Pinnacle Mountain State Park, which is also a Trails of Tears National Historic Site. In the far northwest regions, there’s Lake Maumelle, where you can kayak, sail and go fishing. Elite linksmen will no doubt be familiar with this area already, as it is home to the Alotian Club, one of the most beautiful golf courses in the U.S.
Fun Adventure Awaits
Riverfront Park is the requisite first stop on any new resident’s must-visit list. Setting aside the genericness of its name, this great picnicking spot is the place to see the actual “little rock” the city was named for by the French explorer Bernard de la Harpe. Harpe also noted a much larger rock — la grande roche — further upstream, and had the Quapaw been living closer to it than “la petite roche,” the state capital might have been known as Big Rock, Arkansas. Alas.
Still, Little Rock does have some sites of impressive scale, and none more so than the Big Dam Bridge — one of the best places in the capital city to drop into conversation. Like, I’m so sorry I was late for that meeting, Boss, but I got another flat on the Big Dam Bridge. Or, I spent the weekend doin’ a whole lotta nothin’ out by the Big Dam Bridge. Part of the Arkansas River Trail, this imposing pedestrian and bicycle crossing got its name from the Murray Lock and Dam it’s built upon, but it is the longest damn bridge of its kind on the continent. Hovering 90 feet above the roaring waters of the Arkansas River, you’ll undoubtedly be inspired to let out a few exclamations of awe as you cross it — Daaaaamn, that’s a nice view.
The Big Dam Bridge connects to lots of wilderness trails throughout the region, but it can also ferry you to one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city — the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. In addition to being a terrific educational resource, the institution is surrounded by the Clinton Presidential Park — a wonderful place to enjoy the spoils of nature in Little Rock. Native flowers and trees, along with restored wetlands, make for a serene — and sustainable — place to relax. The moving memorial to Anne Frank embodies the Clinton Global Initiative’s efforts to work toward human rights and social justice at home and around the world.
If you want to get into nature, though, just head to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. This near-town destination is a favorite of mountain bikers. The Coachwhip Trail is ideal for beginners, and the Jackfork Trail has enough jumps, twists and gaps to keep more experienced riders interested. Both summit trails make for short but strenuous hikes to the top, but the East Summit Trail includes some challenging bouldering fields, which are a fun break from the humdrum of the forest.
Dating back to 1924, the Little Rock Zoo has been around longer than nearly all residents of the city, but if you ask one of the capital’s centenarians, they just might remember the Zoo’s first two residents — a timber wolf and a retired circus bear. You’ll find a great deal more to explore at the zoo in its second century, from bush dogs to gila monsters to great apes. But the farm animals steal the show here: Zipper, the miniature donkey; Blitz, the Nigerian dwarf goat, and Kibby, the Katahdin sheep, are just a few of the new friends you’ll make when you visit. Regrettably, the giant chinchilla rabbits cannot go home with you. We asked.
The River Market District is Little Rock’s destination for outdoor fun. There’s an amphitheater for concerts and annual cultural events like the River Market Live! – Hispanic Heritage Celebration and there are dozens of places to grab a bite in the Ottenheimer Market Hall. The Farmer’s Market, which is open every Saturday from May to August, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, which still makes it a young’un in the eyes of the 100-year-old zoo.
Speaking of well-established institutions, the Arkansas Skatium — now in its 45th year — holds the title of the best place in the Natural State to Break a Bone While Having a Blast from the Past. Now, we’ll admit that it’s our lack of both coordination and judgment that has often put us in this literal bind — there is nothing about the Skatium that will make you any more injury-prone than you are naturally, except, perhaps, that this is the only combination rink in the Natural State, which gives you twice as many ways to fall. But whether you choose hardwood or ice, rollers or blades, it’s all up to gravity and your disco moves to determine which body part will be entombed in a cast for the next six weeks.
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is one of the highlights of downtown Little Rock. The AMFA not only has a fabulous collection and wonderful exhibitions — it also hosts performing arts events, from the Ballet Arkansas to storytelling sessions for the kids, like “The Legend of Sleepy Flurffy.” Residents can get in touch with their creative side at the many classes the museum offers — figure drawing, printmaking, stained glass and even silversmithing.
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If you’ll be moving within Little Rock or the state of Arkansas, Mayflower can help with that, as well. Our interstate Arkansas movers can assist you with local moves under their businesses and brands.
DIYers don’t have to do it alone, either. Jumpstart your journey with Mayflower’s moving checklist and planner, and get professional moving tips in our Welcome HOME magazine.
If you’re still considering other cities, Mayflower can give you an in-depth look at other popular relocation destinations in our city guides and state guides, like this inside look at living in Arkansas.
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