Little Rock Metro at a Glance

(Photo courtesy of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas and the global brand of a 12-county region, home to more than 1 million people living within a 50-mile radius of downtown and within driving distance of several comparable-sized cities.

Little Rock, “La Petit Roche,” got its name from the 1682 Robert La Salle expedition, when the party led by the French explorer landed on the south bank of the Arkansas River. 

Little Rock became the seat of Arkansas’ new territorial government in 1821 and was incorporated as a city in 1831. It was named capital of the newly admitted State of Arkansas in 1836. 

Centrally located, with four distinct seasons, Little Rock has a daily mean temperature of 62.6 degrees and an annual precipitation of 49.6 inches. Downtown, where the Southeast meets the Southwest and the Delta becomes the mountains, is 286 feet above sea level with some residential areas rising 300 to 360 feet.

Metro Area by the Numbers

202,591 Population U.S. Census Bureau

#2 Construction Environment in U.S. Associated Builders and Contractors

$66,553 Median household income U.S. Census Bureau

1,200 Miles of cycling and walking trails Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau

3.9% Little Rock Unemployment Rate Bureau of Labor Statistics

#25 Best Cities to live in the Southeast Livability Media

34.7 Median Age 

#3 Best State to Start a Business Forbes Advisors

$938 Average monthly rent Apartments.com

$211,384 Average home cost zillow.com

17.3 minutes Average Commuting Time U.S. News Best Places Report

3,097 Hours of sunshine per year usclimatedata.com

1,335  Anticipated new jobs announced or established in 2025 Little Rock Regional Chamber

380,038 Employed in Central Arkansas Arkansas as of July 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics

$302.6 Million Major industry investments in 2025 Little Rock Regional Chamber

13:1 Student to teacher ration in Pulaski Co. Special School District National Center for Education Statistics

Cost of Living

Arkansas has the second-lowest cost of living in the United States, approximately 14% lower than the rest of the country. Arkansas is among the 10 states with the lowest property tax rates, and Arkansans spend 8.7% less on energy costs than other Americans. The cost of living in Little Rock is…

• 2% less than Austin, Texas 
• 5.1% less than Dallas, Texas
• 4.2% less than Nashville, Tenn.
• 16.1% less than New Orleans, La.
• 1.9% less than Fayetteville, Ark.
• 6.9% less than Charlotte, N.C.

Average Home Price 

• National average: $360,727
• Little Rock: $211,384
• Austin: $496,688
• Dallas: $303,486
• Nashville: $433,381
• New Orleans: $239,043
• Fayetteville: $370,699
• Charlotte: $394,339

Fast Facts:

• The Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport served more than 2.2 million passengers in 2024, a 10.7% annual increase.
• 2.5% of Arkansas’s annual GDP comes from outdoor recreation, a $7.3 billion industry in the Natural State.
• Little Rock feeds into two major interstate highways: I-30 from Little Rock to Fort Worth, Texas, and I-40, from North Carolina to California.
• More than 1,200 miles in Central Arkansas are dedicated to public walking, hiking and biking trails.

Weather

• Average annual high temperature: 73°F
• Average annual low temperature: 52°F
• Days per year with precipitation: 102
• Annual precipitation: 49.57 inches
• Annual hours of sunshine: 3,097

Nonstop Flights From LIT

2.2 Million Passengers Annually