Illinois River Bridge at Phillips Ford · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Tontitown costs more to live in than 67% of U.S. towns
It ranks #120 of 123 in Arkansas for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area ($82K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Tontitown’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($82K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 22% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 33% of renters.
In dollars
- $1,400a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 5.3 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$82K, Fayetteville-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 33%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Arkansas: 45%Census 2020–24
- 22%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Tontitown’s housing numbers say
Rent is easier on renters here
33% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 45% across Arkansas. A standard two-bedroom is 20% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Prices rose faster than Arkansas’ over five years
There’s no Zillow index for Tontitown, so the page uses the federal house price index for the ZIP codes around it, which follows repeat sales of the same homes. It rose 73% over five years, against 52% across Arkansas. Price trend ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of Tontitown’s homes were built after 2005, against 1987 for Arkansas as a whole. Property taxes ↓
2026 has already passed 2025
Through August, Tontitown had permitted 69 new homes in 2026, more than the 41 in all of 2025. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Tontitown, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Tontitown’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Tontitown is more affordable than 33% of U.S. towns, #120 of 123 in Arkansas. Home prices pull the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Home prices up 73% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Tontitown rose 73% over the past 5 years, faster than across Arkansas (52%). Last year prices rose 5.3%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Tontitown home at roughly $514,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $514K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Tontitown, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 17 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 5.3 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Tontitown’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $179K short of a typical Tontitown home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,400 a month here, $1,540 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Tontitown’s typical property tax (0.56% 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 $1,400
Renters already here pay a median of $1,346.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
41 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 41 new homes in Tontitown in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $16.8 million to build. That's 6.4 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Arkansas as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Tontitown has permitted 2,360 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Tontitown gained 1,841 residents while 1,294 new homes were permitted: about 1.4 new residents per new home. Building outpaced population growth, which usually means smaller households or homes 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) | 69 | 69 | 0 | $28.1 million |
| 2025 | 41 | 41 | 0 | $16.8 million |
| 2024 | 73 | 73 | 0 | $32.5 million |
| 2023 | 231 | 231 | 0 | $48.5 million |
| 2022 | 326 | 326 | 0 | $75 million |
| 2021 | 375 | 375 | 0 | $89.2 million |
| 2020 | 352 | 192 | 160 | $73.3 million |
| 2019 | 647 | 207 | 440 | $95 million |
| 2018 | 136 | 136 | 0 | $41.9 million |
| 2017 | 102 | 102 | 0 | $30.5 million |
| 2016 | 77 | 77 | 0 | $23.7 million |
| 2015 | 257 | 46 | 211 | $37.2 million |
| 2014 | 34 | 34 | 0 | $11.7 million |
| 2013 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $8.1 million |
| 2012 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2011 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2008 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $6.1 million |
| 2007 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Arkansas norm
The median bill is $2,420 (Arkansas: $1,040), 0.56% of a home’s value 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+”.
Tontitown vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Tontitown.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tontitown | C | — | $431K | 0.56% | $1,400 |
| Springdale | B+ | $338K | $262K | 0.55% | $1,340 |
| Elm Springs | C+ | $633K | $460K | 0.47% | $1,390 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Tontitown
Is Tontitown expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Tontitown costs more than 67% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #120 of 123 in Arkansas. The typical home costs 5.3 years of the median household income of the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area ($82K).
How much is rent in Tontitown?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,400 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,346 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Tontitown?
The median bill is $2,420 a year, 0.56% of the median home value (Arkansas: $1,040, 0.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Tontitown buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. 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.