What a Little Rock home costs each year
Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.
Suggestions as you type come from Google; the lookup uses free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.
Starts at the typical market value, $236,400; your assessed value is often lower. Typical use.
- Property tax$2,710
1.400% of $236,400, minus the $600 arkansas homestead property tax credit
- Electricity and gas$2,678
1055.9 kWh a month $1,745 · 41.89 therms $933
- Water and sewer$1,159
9 units (CCF) a month on Central Arkansas Water (inside-city rates): water $36, sewer $60 a month
- Trash$481
Residential household rate (inside city), $40 a month
- Home insurance$1,740
Typical premium $1,740
A Little Rock house at the typical market value ($236,400) costs about $8,800 a year: $2,710 property tax and charges, $1,160 water and sewer, $480 trash, $2,680 electricity and gas, $1,740 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 22, 2026. Insurance: what you enter, or a typical premium until you do. Sources are listed at the bottom.
Ways to pay less
Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:
Homeowners: claim the Arkansas homestead property tax credit
The state homestead property tax credit reduces the real property taxes assessed on the homestead of each property owner. Homeowners must apply for the credit with the county assessor's office.
How: Apply with the county assessor's office.
Trouble paying a utility bill? Ask CADC
Central Arkansas Water's service page points customers who need help paying a utility bill to the Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC).
How: Call CADC at 501.326.6229, the number on Central Arkansas Water's page.
Money dates
- Jan 1 each yearin 69 daysCentral Arkansas Water's rate schedule updates for water billed on or after January 1 of each year through 2032, unless otherwise noted.
Who serves this house
- Water
- Central Arkansas Water (inside-city rates)
- Central Arkansas Water inside-city residential, effective for water billed on or after January 1, 2026: $11.23 availability charge, $1.00 infrastructure investment fee and $0.90 watershed protection fee for a 5/8" meter, plus $2.27 per CCF for 1-5 CCF, $2.97 for 6-15 CCF and $3.64 over 15 CCF (1 CCF = 750 gallons).
- Property tax
- 1.40% of value
- 2025 tax year, payable 2026 (Pulaski County)
- Garbage
- City of Little Rock Sanitation Department
- The ordinance text on the city's Dec. 16, 2025 Board agenda lists $40.07 per dwelling unit from 2/1/2026, then $42.07 on 1/1/2027; Central Arkansas Water's sanitation page also lists $40.07 inside the city
- Sewer
- Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority
- Residential sewer billed on a service availability charge plus a volumetric charge
- Electricity
- Entergy Arkansas
- Schedule RS residential rates from its 2026 rate case notice
- Gas
- Summit Utilities Arkansas
- Summit's tariff lists a Little Rock franchise tax of 5.20%
- Schools
- Little Rock School District
- Little Rock School District 46.4 mills
Other AR cities
Bella Vista home costsConway home costsFort Smith home costsBentonville home costsCenterton home costsSherwood home costsLowell home costsFayetteville home costsBenton home costsFarmington home costsSiloam Springs home costsJonesboro home costsParagould home costsCamden home costs
How these numbers are made
- Property tax: Arkansas assesses a home at 20% of market value and applies the total millage. For the 2025 taxes (payable 2026), a Little Rock home in the Little Rock School District carries 70.0 mills: school 46.4, City of Little Rock 15.1 and Pulaski County 8.5. We price the Little Rock School District rate for the school part; homes in other school districts will differ. We subtract the $600 homestead credit. The state report also lists voluntary millages that are not included.
- Water: Central Arkansas Water inside-city residential rates: $11.23 + $1.00 + $0.90 = $13.13 a month for a 5/8" meter, and $2.27 / $2.97 / $3.64 per CCF in three tiers. Sales tax on water is not included. The default water use is a modelling assumption of about 9 CCF a month (6,750 gallons), not a typical use published by Central Arkansas Water or LRWRA.
- Sewer: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority's 2026 inside-city residential rates: $13.87 a month plus $5.15 per 100 cu. ft. LRWRA bills residential customers on average winter consumption (October-March); the calculator uses the water use entered instead. The page also lists a Volumetric Charge for Debt Repayment with no published amount (the ordinance is a scan we could not read), so the sewer total excludes it and is too low by that charge. Garbage: $40.07 a month per the city's solid waste ordinance text on its Dec. 16, 2025 Board agenda (we saw the agenda copy, not proof of adoption), also listed on Central Arkansas Water's sanitation page; the same schedule steps to $42.07 on 1/1/2027. Sales tax is not stated.
- Electricity: Entergy Arkansas Schedule RS present rates from its 2026 rate case notice (a case still pending), year-round weighted average of the first 1,500 kWh block (4 summer months at $0.07392, 8 months at $0.06990), with the formula rate plan rider and tax adjustment rider applied to the customer and energy charges and the per-kWh riders added. Typical use is the EIA 2024 residential average for Entergy Arkansas. Entergy's franchise fees and sales tax are not included.
- Gas: Summit Utilities Arkansas's supply rate is not published in a public document, so gas is priced at Arkansas's 2025 average residential price from EIA, $19.25 per thousand cubic feet, a total price paid. This is a statewide average, not Summit's own rate. Summit's tariff lists a 5.20% franchise tax for Little Rock, not added separately. Insurance is Arkansas's 2022 statewide average premium. The Arkansas figure is from the III page, whose newest table is 2022."] | Modelling: sewer omits the debt-repayment volumetric charge (amount unpublished); tax = 20% of market value x total millage, less homestead credit; electric excludes franchise fees/sales tax; gas priced at EIA statewide residential average, not Summit tariff.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- Arkansas DFA, 2025 Millage Report (2026 collections)
- Arkansas DFA, assessment FAQ (20% assessment rate)
- Act 330 of 2025 (homestead credit $600)
- Arkansas DFA, Property tax relief
- Entergy Arkansas 2026 rate case notice
- EIA 2024 residential sales by utility (Table 6)
- Summit Utilities Arkansas tariff (APSC)
- EIA Arkansas natural gas data
- EIA Arkansas natural gas data
- EIA Arkansas natural gas data
- EIA Arkansas natural gas data
- III homeowners insurance average premiums by state
- Central Arkansas Water helpful service information
- Central Arkansas Water rates
- api.censusreporter.org
- Central Arkansas Water sanitation rates
- www.lrwra.com
- City of Little Rock, solid waste rate ordinance (Board agenda, Dec. 16, 2025)
How Little Rock compares
A typical Little Rock house against the 15 Arkansas cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Little Rock | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.40% | 1.14% | higher than 14 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover |
| Water | $436 | $516 | lower than 10 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $723 | $723 | in the middle of 12 other Arkansas cities we cover |
| Trash | $481 | $230 | higher than 7 of the other 7 Arkansas cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,678 | $2,248 | higher than 11 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $1,740 | $1,740 | in the middle of 14 other Arkansas cities we cover |
| Total | $8,768 | $7,630 | higher than 11 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover |
Cities bill differently (some put trash on the tax bill, some cover more services), so a higher number isn't necessarily worse. The property tax rate is compared instead of dollars because house values differ.
Questions to ask your candidates
Each one starts from a number above. Any candidate can answer them.
1. Property tax rate
The fact: Little Rock's property tax rate is 1.40%, higher than 14 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.
Ask: "Property tax in Little Rock is 1.40%, higher than 14 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"
2. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $481 a year for the standard cart, higher than 7 of the other 7 Arkansas cities we cover. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.
Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $481 a year for the standard cart, higher than 7 of the other 7 Arkansas cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
3. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,678 a year, higher than 11 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,678 a year for a typical house, higher than 11 of the other 14 Arkansas cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Little Rock house costs
What is the property tax rate in Little Rock?
About 1.40% of the value before exemptions a year (2025 tax year, payable 2026 (Pulaski County)), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Little Rock?
About $6,400 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.
How much is the water bill in Little Rock?
About $97 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Central Arkansas Water (inside-city rates).
How much does trash pickup cost in Little Rock?
$40 a month for a house.
How much does a house in Little Rock cost to run each year?
A Little Rock house at the typical market value ($236,400) costs about $8,800 a year: $2,710 property tax and charges, $1,160 water and sewer, $480 trash, $2,680 electricity and gas, $1,740 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.