Cost of living in Arkansas

Arkansas at a glance

Median rent

$947

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$60,773

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$188,000

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$1,040

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

23 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

4.9%

Census ACS, DP03

Arkansas's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 13% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in Arkansas

These are the most populous places in Arkansas, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Pulaski County

  Population

  400K

  Rent

  $1,080

  Household income

  $62,873

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,642

  Set as targetPlan

• Benton County

  Population

  304K

  Rent

  $1,277

  Household income

  $93,506

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,823

  Set as targetPlan

• Washington County

  Population

  257K

  Rent

  $1,071

  Household income

  $70,639

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,564

  Set as targetPlan

Arkansas, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on June 15, 1836, as the 25th state. Henri de Tonty founded Arkansas Post on the lower Arkansas River in 1686, the first permanent European settlement in what is now Arkansas. The land passed to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and became a separate territory in 1819.

• Hot Springs National Park

  Thermal springs, a row of historic bathhouses, creeks and forested trails in the middle of a town.

• Buffalo National River

  An undammed river that flows 135 miles through the Ozark Mountains past tall bluffs, rapids and quiet pools.

• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

  The high school where the Little Rock Nine tested the enforcement of school desegregation in 1957.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Arkansas

Current owners in Arkansas pay a median 0.55% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $1,040 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $349 in Lee County to $1,823 in Benton County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

A buyer in Arkansas should expect a higher bill than these: a buyer may not claim the seller's 5% cap, so the assessment restarts its climb to full value. Source: Arkansas DFA, Assessment Coordination Division, property tax relief.

Health in Arkansas

Life expectancy

73.7 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

10.0%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

22.7%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

91

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Arkansas as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Arkansas

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$1.8B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.94

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$628M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Pulaski County, AR is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 75 counties in Arkansas

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.