How much do households in Arkansas spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $846 per month, or 28.6% of their income, in 2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2022, median rent was
28.6%
of median income
In 2022,
$846
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Arkansas's rent-to-income ratio was lower than in the US overall in 2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income
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The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Arkansas, the rent-to-income ratio reached 33.7% that year. Most recently, in 2022, Arkansas’ rent-to-income ratio was 28.6%, 3.1 percentage points lower than the national rate.
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.8% in 2018–2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
In 2018–2022, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.8%. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Mayagüez, Puerto Rico at 56.9% (highest) and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, at 21.7% (lowest). In Arkansas, the highest and lowest were Jonesboro at 31.6% and Fayetteville at 24.9%.
During that period, Fayetteville, AR area had the highest median rent at $1.01K per month and highest median monthly income at $4.05K out of six Arkansas metro areas. Its rent-to-income ratio was sixth highest in the state.
Renter income and rent, Arkansas metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Fayetteville, AR area | $4,055 |
| 2. | Fort Smith, AR area | $2,955 |
| 3. | Hot Springs, AR area | $3,504 |
| 4. | Jonesboro, AR area | $2,693 |
| 5. | Little Rock, AR area | $3,230 |
| 6. | Pine Bluff, AR area | $2,778 |
