Pulaski County

Pulaski County's numbers place it squarely in appreciation-leaning territory with modest cash-flow potential at best. The gross rent-to-price ratio sits at 6.76%, which translates to a 4.4% cap rate on a $210,341 median purchase. At 6.85% financing and 20% down, the model spits out negative $332 per month in cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of -8.24%. Those are not typos. The appreciation score of 83 out of 100 reflects a 4.0% year-over-year price gain, and the affordability index of 85 suggests there's still room to run before median incomes get priced out. But the levered cash-flow story is negative from day one on a median acquisition, and investors need to walk in with that expectation.

This market suits an appreciation buyer or a value-add operator, not a cash-flow-first investor buying at median prices. The 4.0% annual price appreciation, 82nd national percentile overall ranking (138 out of 1,000 counties), and affordability index of 85 are the bull case. A buyer who can manufacture yield through renovation, rent optimization, or below-market acquisition has a fighting chance of getting to breakeven or better, but the vanilla buy-at-list approach is a negative-carry trade at current rates. The affordability score of 85 means tenant demand should remain real, since renters who are priced out of ownership become your customer base, but that same affordability dynamic puts a ceiling on how aggressively you can push rents. The stability score of 50 is the number that deserves the most scrutiny before committing capital.

Pulaski County is the home of Little Rock, Arkansas's state capital and its largest metro, which brings a diversified base of government employment, healthcare, and education anchors that underpin rental demand. State government employment tends to be countercyclical, providing some insulation when private sector hiring softens. A metro of roughly 398,000 people is large enough to have genuine tenant depth across multiple asset classes and price points, which reduces the single-employer concentration risk common in smaller Arkansas counties. That population base also supports the 4.0% price appreciation, as in-migration and household formation in the state capital tend to be steadier than in secondary or rural markets.

The tax and insurance carry is a genuine tailwind here. Arkansas's state-average effective property tax rate is 0.62%, flagged as low, which is a meaningful underwriting advantage. Combined with a 0.48% insurance rate, the monthly tax-and-insurance load on a $210,341 property is approximately $193. That is a real number to hold onto: at 6.85% rates, every dollar of monthly carry matters, and $193 versus $350 or $400 you'd pay in a high-tax state is the difference between a bad deal and a workable one. As always, the 0.62% figure is a state-average estimate per Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Pulaski County or township rates may differ, so verify at the assessor level before finalizing your underwrite.

The primary risk worth naming is the stability score of 50, which is mediocre relative to the overall score of 71 and the appreciation score of 83. That gap suggests the market's upside is real but uneven, and investors should think carefully about concentration within the Little Rock metro. The data does not support fabricating vacancy or crime figures, but a 50 stability score in a state-capital market is worth investigating at the submarket level before buying, particularly in neighborhoods that depend heavily on a single institutional employer or that sit outside the core rental demand corridors.

Compared to neighbors, Pulaski sits at a different point on the risk-return spectrum than the counties around it. Jefferson County is the most obvious contrast: median price of $84,271, median rent of $886, and a rent-to-price ratio of 12.6% versus Pulaski's 6.76%. Jefferson is a pure cash-flow play on paper, though the overall score is the same at 71, which suggests other risks offset that yield. White County, at $201,544 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 7.79%, actually beats Pulaski on gross yield while carrying a similar price point, making it worth a closer look if cash flow is the priority. Independence County at 5.91% gross yield underperforms Pulaski on that metric. Scott County, with its $152,008 median and an overall score of 73, is one of the few neighbors with a higher overall score, though the absence of rent data limits the comparison. Choose Pulaski over its neighbors when your thesis is appreciation and tenant-base depth, when you want the relative liquidity of a large metro, and when you're prepared to accept negative leverage at today's rates in exchange for a market where property values have a demonstrated and likely durable trajectory upward.