Jay Lewis House · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0How is McGehee run?
McGehee’s city government spent $5.7 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,566 per resident. Water and other utilities ($429,000) and the airport ($186,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how McGehee is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
McGehee School District
McGehee’s K–12 school district, shared with Arkansas City, Reed, Tillar, Watson. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,528 per pupil, $8,446 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 $1,566 per resident a year, or $4.29 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 31%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for McGehee yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). McGehee’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars), so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is up 13% since 2023
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years McGehee reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2023: $1,346 · 2024: $1,566.
full-time in March 2025, up from 44 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $582 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.59% 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 McGehee’s 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.
Tax bills are one input to McGehee’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in McGehee →
Who’s in charge in McGehee
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
McGehee’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on thecityofmcgehee.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 81 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 2024 finance file (3,654).
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.
McGehee’s votes are counted by county
Arkansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for McGehee alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Desha County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican51.5%1,805 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat46.7%1,638 votesOthers: 1.8% (62 votes).
Most votes in Desha County: Donald J Trump
Arkansas: Trump 64.2%, Harris 33.6%
100% of McGehee lies in Desha County. Every 2024 race in Desha County is on the county’s page.
Desha 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 McGehee.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: thecityofmcgehee.com ↗
- 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 McGehee’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about McGehee’s government
How much does McGehee spend per resident?
About $1,566 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in McGehee?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $582 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.59% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see thecityofmcgehee.com.
Who runs McGehee’s government?
See thecityofmcgehee.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for McGehee yet.
How did McGehee vote in 2024?
Arkansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for McGehee alone. Desha County, where 100% of McGehee lies, voted Trump 51.5%, Harris 46.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for McGehee?
45 full-time and 19 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $215,284 (about $2.6M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents McGehee in the state legislature?
State Senate District 8 (Stephanie Flowers) and State House District 94 (Jeff Wardlaw). The House district also covers seven other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about McGehee’s 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; 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 →