Property Tax in Craighead County, Arkansas
The median real estate tax bill in Craighead County, Arkansas is $1,084 per year, and the median home is worth $198,700. Both figures are the US Census Bureau's survey medians for owner-occupied households (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What the Craighead County numbers mean
A median is the middle household: half of owner-occupied households in Craighead County pay more than $1,084, and half pay less. Your own bill is set by your home's assessed value, the exemptions you qualify for, and the local taxing districts your property sits in — so individual bills vary widely around the median.
Dividing the median tax by the median home value gives a derived effective rate of 0.55% for Craighead County. It is an estimate built from two survey medians, not the county's official rate, but it is a fair way to compare the local tax burden with other counties where home values are very different.
Craighead County by the numbers
| Measure | Craighead County | Arkansas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $1,084 | $1,003 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $198,700 | $175,300 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.55% | 0.57% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $90 | $84 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Craighead County at a glance
- Median tax rank in Arkansas: #7 of 75 counties
- Median home value rank in Arkansas: #6 of 75
- Population rank in Arkansas: #7 of 75 (112,097 residents)
- Population density rank: #7 of 75 (159 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Arkansas: #29 of 75 (707 sq mi, 1.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $90; per $1,000 of home value: $0.55
How Craighead County compares
Of the 75 Arkansas counties with published data, 6 have a higher median property tax bill than Craighead County's $1,084, putting the county at #7 in the state. Its bill is about 8% higher than the state median of $1,003 and about 63% lower than the national median of $2,969.
Rates and values pull in opposite directions: an expensive housing market can produce big bills at ordinary rates. Here the derived rate is 0.55%, versus 0.98% derived nationally, and the median home value ranks #6 within Arkansas.
Some extra context for Craighead County: the median bill works out to about $90 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $546 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 112,097 people — the #7 most populous county in Arkansas, spread over 707 square miles, a density of about 159 people per square mile. Its median home value, $198,700, ranks #6 among the state's 75 counties with data.
Nationally, Craighead County's median bill of $1,084 ranks #2258 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 72% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 3.7% of Arkansas's population, its median home value is about 13% above the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 5.46% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Craighead County to the most expensive county, Benton County ($1,731), is $647 a year.
Counties nearest Craighead County in the Arkansas ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faulkner County, AR | $1,201 | $211,300 | 0.57% |
| Lonoke County, AR | $1,178 | $184,100 | 0.64% |
| Sebastian County, AR | $1,081 | $166,000 | 0.65% |
| Carroll County, AR | $980 | $186,300 | 0.53% |
Craighead County and its population peers
For a like-for-like sense of scale, compare Craighead County with its national population peers: the counties nearest to its 112,097 residents, listed in the table below with their own Census medians. Of the 9 counties in that group, Craighead County's median bill of $1,084 is #8 of 9.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario County, NY | 112,405 | $4,460 | $202,900 | 2.20% |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 112,323 | $2,913 | $232,000 | 1.26% |
| LaPorte County, IN | 112,141 | $1,435 | $180,700 | 0.79% |
| Delaware County, IN | 112,109 | $997 | $127,600 | 0.78% |
| Pennington County, SD | 112,081 | $3,049 | $270,400 | 1.13% |
| Douglas County, OR | 111,807 | $1,869 | $283,200 | 0.66% |
| Hanover County, VA | 111,652 | $2,506 | $372,700 | 0.67% |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 111,539 | $2,988 | $367,400 | 0.81% |
The closest population match is Delaware County, Indiana (112,109 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $997 on a median home value of $127,600 — $87 more than Craighead County pays.
Inside Arkansas itself, the counties closest to Craighead County in population are Faulkner County (126,001 residents, median tax $1,201 on a median value of $211,300); Saline County (125,724 residents, median tax $1,335 on a median value of $211,700); Garland County (100,062 residents, median tax $915 on a median value of $176,400); White County (77,395 residents, median tax $761 on a median value of $159,600). Same state, same broad tax framework — yet the median bills still differ, because assessed values and the mix of county, municipal and school-district rates are set locally.
How the tax is worked out
Think of the final bill as three ingredients: the assessed value of the property, the exemptions subtracted from it, and the combined rate of every district the property sits in. Craighead County's medians imply a derived rate of 0.55%; applied illustratively, a $400,000 home would owe about $2,184 a year, or around $182 a month spread evenly. Individual properties depart from the illustration in both directions.
Illustrative bills in Craighead County at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.55% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Craighead County — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.57% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $819 | $68 |
| $250,000 | $1,365 | $114 |
| $350,000 | $1,911 | $159 |
| $500,000 | $2,730 | $228 |
| $750,000 | $4,095 | $341 |
Illustration only: real bills are computed from the assessed value, exemptions, and the combined rates of the property's actual taxing districts.
Checking your assessment in Craighead County
Believe your assessment is too high? The practical order of attack is: obtain your record card and audit it line by line; collect comparable recent sales in Craighead County; ask the assessor's office to correct anything plainly wrong; and, if the value still seems off, lodge a formal appeal ahead of the deadline printed on your assessment notice. Windows are short — often 30 to 90 days — and late appeals are usually rejected outright, however strong the case.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Craighead County, Arkansas?
The median real estate tax paid in Craighead County, Arkansas is $1,084 per year, on a median home value of $198,700 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Craighead County, Arkansas?
Dividing Craighead County's median tax bill ($1,084) by its median home value ($198,700) gives a derived effective rate of 0.55%. This is an estimate computed from two Census survey medians — it is not the county's official tax rate.
How does Craighead County compare with the rest of Arkansas?
By median taxes paid, Craighead County stands at #7 among the 75 Arkansas counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $1,084 median bill is about 8% higher than the state median ($1,003), and 6 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Craighead County, Arkansas?
The assessor estimates your property's market value; exemptions (such as a homestead exemption) reduce the taxable amount; and the result is multiplied by the combined rates of the local taxing districts — county, municipality, school district and any special districts. In Craighead County, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $1,084 on a median home value of $198,700.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Craighead County, Arkansas?
Yes — appeals are handled locally. Start with the Craighead County assessor's property record card for your home, correct any factual errors, and back your case with comparable recent sales. Formal appeals go to the review board named on your assessment notice and must be filed by its deadline, typically within 30 to 90 days.