Report: Northwest Arkansas’ housing challenges have grown since 2019

The need for more affordable housing continues to accelerate in Northwest Arkansas, according to the Walton Family Foundation. The foundation released an update Tuesday (May 27) to its first Our Housing Future report, which was issued in September 2019.

The new report, Our Housing Future: A Call to Action for Northwest Arkansas, highlights the region’s evolving housing challenges and opportunities, including a nearly 50% rise in median rent for multifamily housing and a 70.9% increase in home prices since 2019.

The home price increase outpaces comparable regions like Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., (58.3%) and Austin, Texas (46.2%). The multifamily rent increase was based on data analyzed by the University of Arkansas Center for Business and Economic Research from the first half of 2024.

“While progress has been made in some areas, the challenges outlined in 2019 have only grown,” said Robert Burns, director of the Walton Family Foundation’s Home Region Program. “Our region is at an important juncture, requiring action to ensure affordable and accessible housing for all residents.”

The report shows a need to address housing affordability and supply amid rapid population growth. The region is projected to reach 1 million people by 2050, making it one of the 20 fastest-growing metros in the United States.

Following are some of the highlights in the 2025 report compared with the 2019 report.
• The number of new rental units needed for low-income households has risen to 9,300 from 7,100. The number of households spending more than 30% of their income on housing has risen by 10% to 29,756 households.

• Area median income (AMI) for a family of four increased by 35%, from $69,900 to $94,400. Over the past five years, several professions have shifted income categories.

• Since the report was completed, the area median income in Northwest Arkansas has increased to $101,800 from $94,400, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the foundation, the income growth “does not alter the report’s core findings. All analysis is based on the most current data available at the time of the report’s completion.”

• By 2040, the region could lose more than half of its 3,233 subsidized housing units because of expiring federal subsidies, the report shows.

“Some strides have been made – including local land use reforms, the establishment of Groundwork, a regional housing organization and philanthropic investment in over 1,000 units of attainable housing. But progress on the five critical actions identified in 2019 has been limited,” said Stacy Jurado-Miller, senior program officer specializing in regional affordability and housing for the Walton Family Foundation’s Home Region Program. “Challenges like clarity on legal parameters, limited funding, accessible resources, and unclear responsibility and accountability will require regional collaboration and a shared plan for creating the tools to build a better housing future.”

According to the report, following are the areas essential to address the region’s housing crisis.
• Regional housing vision: No formal agreement exists to guide housing policy.
• Development incentives: Developers have identified a need for gap funding and incentives to make affordable units financially feasible.
• Public land for housing: Further efforts to inventory and use publicly owned land for affordable housing are needed.
• Funding gaps: Rising construction costs and insufficient state-level resources hinder affordable housing projects.

The report shows immediate priorities include establishing a regional housing vision, creating a housing trust fund, using publicly owned land, leveraging federal and state funding and introducing development incentives to address the housing shortfall. The report also highlights the need for planning in smaller, rapidly growing towns outside the four major cities – Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale.

“Safe and affordable housing is critical infrastructure, essential to preserving the quality of life that makes Northwest Arkansas unique,” Burns said. “Housing is a cornerstone of community stability and economic prosperity, and regional leaders will need to work together to adopt bold, collaborative measures to secure a sustainable future.”