Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0How is Hughes run?
Hughes’ city government spent $1 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $836 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Hughes didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Hughes is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
West Memphis School District
Hughes’ K–12 school district, shared with Anthonyville, Edmondson, Horseshoe Lake, West Memphis. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,559 per pupil, $7,953 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Arkansas districts overall: 16% local, 70% state, 14% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $836 per resident a year, or $2.29 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 54%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Hughes didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Hughes yet
Every year of Hughes’ figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, the same as 17 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
The typical homeowner pays $353 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.51% of the home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Hughes’ rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Hughes’ Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Hughes →
Who’s in charge in Hughes
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 71 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (1,200).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Hughes’ votes are counted by county
Arkansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Hughes alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are St. Francis County’s results.
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat49.4%2,953 votes
Donald J TrumpRepublican48.7%2,909 votesOthers: 2.0% (117 votes).
Most votes in St. Francis County: Kamala D Harris
Arkansas: Trump 64.2%, Harris 33.6%
100% of Hughes lies in St. Francis County. Every 2024 race in St. Francis County is on the county’s page.
St. Francis County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Hughes.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Arkansas HouseState representatives
- 3Arkansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Arkansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Hughes’ government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Hughes’ government
How much does Hughes spend per resident?
About $836 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Hughes didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $1 million.
What is the property tax rate in Hughes?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $353 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.51% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Hughes’ government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Hughes yet.
How did Hughes vote in 2024?
Arkansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Hughes alone. St. Francis County, where 100% of Hughes lies, voted Harris 49.4%, Trump 48.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Hughes?
17 full-time and 4 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $62,718 (about $752,616 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Hughes in the state legislature?
State Senate District 9 (Reginald Murdock) and State House District 63 (Lincoln Barnett). The House district also covers six other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Hughes’ government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Hughes, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →