Arkansas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Hempstead County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Hempstead County pays $601 a year, an effective rate of 0.57%, far below the U.S. average.
- $601
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.57%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -70%
- vs U.S. average
- #17 of 75
- rank in AR
The verdict
Homeowners in Hempstead County pay a median $601 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.57%, more affordable than 75% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $601
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.57%
- Effective rate on median home
- #782 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -70%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($105,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Arkansas. Population: 19,508. Owner-occupied homes: 5,366.
The median annual property tax in Hempstead County is $601, which is 42% lower than the Arkansas state average and 70% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.57% on a median home value of $105,700. Property taxes represent 1.3% of the median household income in this county.
Hempstead County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Hempstead County's 0.57% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 75%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Hempstead County pay a median annual property tax of $601, far below the national median and well below the Arkansas state median. On a $105,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.57% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Hempstead County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $46,787 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Low among Arkansas counties by effective rate
Hempstead County ranks #17 of 75 counties in Arkansas by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 5
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has climbed 19.5%, from $503 to $601. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Hempstead County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 52% from $396 to $601. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 2,862 of 5,366 owner-occupied homes (53.3%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.3% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Hempstead County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Hempstead County homeowners, 2,862 of 5,366 owner-occupied homes (53.3%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 53.3% (2,862)
- $800 to $1,499 21.7% (1,163)
- $1,500 to $1,999 5.0% (269)
- $2,000 to $2,999 1.5% (78)
- $3,000 or more 3.7% (197)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
797 homes here (14.9%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Arkansas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Hempstead County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Hempstead County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Hempstead County's effective rate is higher than 77% of the 75 counties in Arkansas - ranking #17 of 75.
Where Hempstead County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.57% Among the most affordable more affordable than 75% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Hempstead County moved from $396 in the 2020 release to $601 in 2024, a change of about 52%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Hempstead County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Hempstead County | Arkansas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.3% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Hempstead County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Arkansas counties.
Hempstead County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $601 +19.5% | 0.57% |
| 2023 | $503 -3.5% | 0.50% |
| 2022 | $521 +11.6% | 0.50% |
| 2021 | $467 +17.9% | 0.50% |
| 2020 | $396 | 0.45% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Hempstead County: tax takes only 1.3% of income
Counties near Hempstead County's effective rate
On effective rate, Hempstead County sits nearest Okaloosa County (FL), Santa Rosa County (FL), Dade County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Presidio County (TX), Millard County (UT), Eddy County (ND).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Hempstead County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 150 of 8,180 returns from Hempstead County reported real estate taxes, averaging $1,413 - 40% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Arkansas
Hempstead County rate FAQs
- How does Hempstead County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Hempstead County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.57% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Hempstead County?
- Hempstead County, Arkansas scores A- (84/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is bill size at A+ ($601/yr). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Hempstead County, Arkansas?
- The median annual property tax in Hempstead County is $601, an effective rate of 0.57% on a $105,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Hempstead County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Hempstead County is recorded at $601 in the 2024 5-year release against $396 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 5,366 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Hempstead County?
- Property taxes in Hempstead County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.3% of the $46,787 median household income.
What to do with Hempstead County's QUIET rate
Hempstead County's $601 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.3% of Hempstead County's $46,787 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Hempstead County's QUIET effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.57%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $601/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Hempstead County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Hempstead County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Calhoun County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $600/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.66% vs Hempstead County 0.57%.
Holmes County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $600/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.54% vs Hempstead County 0.57%.
Woodruff County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $600/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.56% vs Hempstead County 0.57%.
Hancock County, TN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $599/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.45% vs Hempstead County 0.57%.
Arkansas county set
State ACS overview for every published Arkansas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Hempstead County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Hempstead County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.