Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Homes in Pine Bluff cost about 1.7 years of local pay, but renters are stretched more than prices suggest
More affordable than 66% of U.S. towns, #53 of 123 in Arkansas. Down 4.1% in a year, 69% below the Arkansas typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Pine Bluff, AR micro area ($52K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, Pine Bluff is one of the least expensive places in Arkansas. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and Pine Bluff-area incomes are lower too ($52K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 0.67% of a home’s value a year (Arkansas: 0.55%), and 47% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $68Ktypical home, 69% below the Arkansas typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $940a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 1.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$52K, Pine Bluff-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 47%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Arkansas: 45%Census 2020–24
- 23%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Pine Bluff, in brief
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Pine Bluff home runs about $400 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $940. Can I afford it? ↓
Prices are 12% below their 2024 peak
The typical Pine Bluff home peaked at $77K in June 2024 and is worth about $68K now. Across Arkansas, values are at or near their high. Over five years, Pine Bluff is down 2.6%. Price trend ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Pine Bluff lost 7,830 residents while 295 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
Very little new building
Pine Bluff permitted 151 new homes over the past 10 years, about 0.4 a year per 1,000 residents. Across Arkansas, the pace in 2025 was 7.6. In 2025, Pine Bluff permitted 14. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Pine Bluff’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Pine Bluff is more affordable than 66% of U.S. towns, #53 of 123 in Arkansas. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have lagged Arkansas: the typical Pine Bluff home is down 2.6% in five years, against 20.2% statewide (Zillow).
Down 2.6% in five years
Slower than Arkansas (20.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Pine Bluff | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $52,000 | $138,000 |
| 2018 | $53,000 | $143,000 |
| 2019 | $53,000 | $148,000 |
| 2020 | $55,000 | $154,000 |
| 2021 | $64,000 | $170,000 |
| 2022 | $74,000 | $194,000 |
| 2023 | $73,000 | $204,000 |
| 2024 | $75,000 | $209,000 |
| 2025 | $74,000 | $217,000 |
| 2026 | $70,000 | $221,000 |
| September 2026 | $68,000 | $224,000 |
A typical Pine Bluff home worth $50K in October 2016 is worth about $68K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A buyer's market
More homes are for sale than are selling — about 7 months of supply. Buyers have room to negotiate.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A typical home costs 1.7 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Pine Bluff’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Pine Bluff home, with $141K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $940 a month here, $540 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Pine Bluff’s typical property tax (0.67% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $940
Renters already here pay a median of $855.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Grant County, AR HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
14 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 14 new homes in Pine Bluff in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $2.2 million to build. That's 0.4 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Arkansas (7.6). Over the past 10 years, Pine Bluff has permitted 151 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Pine Bluff's population fell by 7,830 even though 295 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Arkansas: 1.1 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 2 | 2 | 0 | $321,000 |
| 2025 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2024 | 13 | 5 | 8 | $2.3 million |
| 2023 | 39 | 11 | 28 | $11.7 million |
| 2022 | 30 | 6 | 24 | $1.1 million |
| 2021 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2020 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2019 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2018 | 7 | 1 | 6 | $334,000 |
| 2017 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2016 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2015 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2014 | 27 | 11 | 16 | $2 million |
| 2013 | 73 | 73 | 0 | $6.6 million |
| 2012 | 57 | 15 | 42 | $4.1 million |
| 2011 | 12 | 10 | 2 | $1.7 million |
| 2010 | 83 | 21 | 62 | $4.1 million |
| 2009 | 43 | 19 | 24 | $3.3 million |
| 2008 | 76 | 32 | 44 | $3.8 million |
| 2007 | 117 | 43 | 74 | $2.5 million |
| 2006 | 39 | 36 | 3 | $1.8 million |
| 2005 | 99 | 48 | 51 | $2.4 million |
| 2004 | 80 | 40 | 40 | $2 million |
| 2003 | 139 | 57 | 82 | $3.3 million |
| 2002 | 71 | 55 | 16 | $3.7 million |
| 2001 | 69 | 69 | 0 | $6.6 million |
| 2000 | 78 | 50 | 28 | $2.7 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $599, under the Arkansas median of $1,040, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 0.67% a year, against 0.55% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Pine Bluff vs. its neighbors
Of the 2 towns here with a Zillow value, Pine Bluff has the lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Bluff | B+ | $68K | $89K | 0.67% | $940 |
| White Hall | C+ | $137K | $213K | 0.74% | $940 |
Questions about the cost of living in Pine Bluff
Is Pine Bluff expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Pine Bluff costs less than 66% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living, #53 of 123 in Arkansas. The typical home costs 1.7 years of the median household income of the Pine Bluff, AR micro area ($52K).
How much does a house cost in Pine Bluff?
About $68K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 4.1% in a year. The Arkansas typical home is $224K.
What salary do you need to live in Pine Bluff?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $17,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $400 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $38,000.
How much is rent in Pine Bluff?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $940 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $855 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Pine Bluff?
The median bill is $599 a year, 0.67% of the median home value (Arkansas: $1,040, 0.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Pine Bluff going up?
No: down 4.1% in the past year and -2.6% in five years, against 20.2% across Arkansas (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Pine Bluff buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.