Arkansas Cities Compared: Rent, Home Prices and Income

This page is for people leaving a large, expensive metro who want to compare the Arkansas cities Small City Guide covers on the same yardstick. It puts Little Rock, Fayetteville, Bentonville, Conway and Hot Springs side by side using one federal survey, then links to each city’s full guide for neighborhood detail. Little Rock is the state’s largest city, not a small one, and it is included because it anchors central Arkansas and sets the price benchmark for Conway and Hot Springs.

Five Arkansas cities on one Census yardstick

Every figure in the table comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year, American Community Survey estimates, the latest five-year release that covers all five cities with the same method. The two ratio columns are our own arithmetic on those medians, checked in code. They compare a typical rent and a typical home value against a typical household income, so they describe the city as a whole rather than any one household’s budget.

Three patterns stand out. First, rents sit in a narrow band: the gap between the cheapest city (Hot Springs, $902) and the most expensive (Bentonville, $1,238) is $336 a month, per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year, and every city is below the U.S. median gross rent of $1,348. Second, home values spread much wider. Bentonville’s median home value of $370,700 is about 2.4 times Hot Springs’ $156,900, and Fayetteville and Bentonville both sit above the U.S. median of $303,400. Third, incomes explain most of the difference in strain. Bentonville has the highest median household income of the five at $108,465, about 1.38 times the U.S. figure, which is why its rent takes the smallest share of income (13.7%) despite the highest rent. Hot Springs has the lowest rent but also the lowest income ($46,441), so rent there takes the largest share (23.3%).

Commutes are short across the board. All five cities average under 23 minutes one way, against 26.6 minutes for the U.S., per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year, tables B08013 and B08012.

Little Rock: the capital and the state’s largest city

Little Rock is the capital and most populous city of Arkansas, and the ACS count of 202,739 residents is more than twice that of Fayetteville, the next-largest city in the state by the same survey (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year). Its numbers land close to the state average: median household income of $60,583 against $58,773 for Arkansas, but a median home value of $221,200 that is well above the state’s $175,300. The rent share of income (21.1%) is the second-highest of the five, and the price-to-income ratio of 3.7 is just below the U.S. ratio of 3.9.

Our Little Rock cost of living guide points out that the city sits on the Arkansas River and is home to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, both confirmed by the city profile and the UAMS profile, which describes UAMS as a public medical school in Little Rock. For someone who wants big-city services in Arkansas without leaving the state’s lower housing cost range, this is the reference point.

Fayetteville and Bentonville: Northwest Arkansas prices

These two cities belong to the same three-county Northwest Arkansas metro area, and their home values are the highest of the five. That makes them the two places on this list where buying looks most like buying in a larger metro.

Fayetteville

Fayetteville has 97,227 residents per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year, second in the state behind Little Rock, so it is a mid-size city rather than a small one. Its median household income ($59,074) is almost identical to the state’s, but its median home value is $322,500, which gives it the highest price-to-income ratio in this comparison at 5.5, above the U.S. 3.9. Rent is gentler: the median of $1,003 takes 20.4% of median income. Our Fayetteville guide notes the city is home to the University of Arkansas, which the Fayetteville profile confirms as the state’s flagship university, and it mentions the Razorback Regional Greenway, a shared-use trail that starts at Kessler Mountain Regional Park in Fayetteville and runs north through the region.

Bentonville

Bentonville is the smallest city in the Northwest Arkansas pair at 56,326 residents, and the most expensive: $1,238 median rent and $370,700 median home value, per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year. Its $108,465 median household income is the reason those prices hold up, giving it the lowest rent share (13.7%) and a price-to-income ratio of 3.4, below the U.S. figure. Our Bentonville guide ties the city’s economy to Walmart and points to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The Bentonville profile confirms Walmart’s headquarters is in the city, and the Crystal Bridges profile confirms the museum is in Bentonville and offers free general admission. Anyone moving without a salary near the local median should read the price numbers, not the income numbers.

Conway and Hot Springs: central Arkansas at lower prices

Both cities sit within reach of Little Rock and both come in below it on home values, but for different reasons. Conway is a college town, and Hot Springs is an older resort city with the lowest housing costs on this list.

Conway

Conway has 66,288 residents, a median household income of $58,461 and a median gross rent of $986, per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year. Its median home value of $234,600 gives a price-to-income ratio of 4.0, and rent takes 20.2% of median income, both close to Little Rock. The one weak number is commuting: at 22.6 minutes, Conway has the longest mean commute of the five, roughly in line with the state average of 22.3. Our Conway guide notes that the University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College and Central Baptist College are all in the city, and the Conway profile confirms all three, which is why it is nicknamed the City of Colleges. The same profile identifies Conway as the seat of Faulkner County.

Hot Springs

Hot Springs is the smallest city here at 38,023 residents, with the lowest median rent ($902), the lowest median home value ($156,900) and the lowest median household income ($46,441), per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year. Its home value is about 52% of the U.S. median, and its price-to-income ratio of 3.4, the same as Bentonville’s at one decimal, is the lowest of the five cities. Rent, though, takes 23.3% of median income, the highest share in the table, so the savings are largest for people who arrive with income from elsewhere. Our Hot Springs guide notes that Hot Springs National Park runs through the city’s downtown and that Bathhouse Row lines Central Avenue. The Hot Springs profile confirms both: the center of the city is preserved as the national park, which includes Bathhouse Row’s eight historic bathhouse buildings and gardens along Central Avenue. The same profile places the city in the Ouachita Mountains.

Arkansas taxes that follow you to any of these cities

Housing is the big local variable. Two state taxes apply the same way in all five cities:

• Individual income tax. For 2026, Arkansas has a two-bracket income tax: 2.0% on income above $0 and 3.9% on income above $4,600, per the Tax Foundation’s State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026. The Tax Foundation’s table lists Arkansas among the states with a graduated-rate tax.
• Sales and use tax. The state sales tax rate is 6.500%, and city and county taxes are added on top depending on where a purchase is delivered, per the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration sales and use tax FAQ. That means the total rate at the register differs between these five cities, so check the local rate before comparing shopping budgets.

For context on the state as a whole, Arkansas’s median home value of $175,300 is about 58% of the U.S. median, and its median household income of $58,773 is about 75% of the U.S. figure, per U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year. A household keeping a larger-metro income gets the most room from those two gaps; a household taking a local salary should compare the income column, not just the prices.