TL;DR: Investing in Bentonville real estate makes sense for a long-term hold, not a flip: the median sale price was $489,717 for the three months ending September 2026, essentially flat (down 0.058% year over year), with homes taking a median 44 days to sell (Redfin). Population grew 16.3% from 2020 to the July 1, 2025 estimate (U.S. Census Bureau), and metro payroll jobs rose 2.2% in the year to September 2026 (BLS, preliminary). The case holds only if rent covers about $6,072 a year in property tax plus mortgage and other costs, so verify rent before buying.
What Is Bentonville Real Estate Selling For Right Now?
Redfin reports a Bentonville median sale price of $489,717 for the three months ending September 2026, down 0.058% from a year earlier, with homes selling after a median of 44 days on market, compared with 29 days a year earlier. Bentonville is the home of Walmart's headquarters.
Read those numbers together. A price that is essentially flat tells you the market is not handing out appreciation right now. A 44-day median time on market, up from 29 days a year earlier, tells you sellers are waiting longer for a buyer. That favors a buyer negotiating a purchase. It works against an investor who plans to sell within a year or two, because your exit would face the same slow pace.
A purchase near the $489,717 median should be underwritten on rent and holding costs, not on a price gain. Build your numbers assuming the sale price stays near today's level, and treat any appreciation as a bonus.
Can a Bentonville Rental Cover Its Costs?
This article does not quote a rental yield or a cash-flow result, because rent depends on the street, the bedroom count and the condition of the home. Treat any yield quoted without a source and a date with skepticism.
What we can give you is the cost side. The full property tax on a median-priced home is about $6,072 a year (calculation in the next section), before insurance, maintenance, and vacancy. Your annual rent must clear all of those, plus your mortgage payment.
The first task is gathering rent. Pull at least three current listings for comparable homes in the neighborhood you are considering, such as the areas near Crystal Bridges Museum, along the Razorback Greenway, or close to Walmart's headquarters, multiply the monthly rent by twelve, and subtract $6,072 before you subtract anything else. If the result looks thin against the $489,717 median price, the deal is a bet on growth, not on income.
How Much Is Property Tax on a Bentonville Rental?
Arkansas assesses real property at 20% of market value, and the millage rate is applied to that assessed value, not to the market price (Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division, as of 2026-08-19). One mill equals a tax of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value (University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, 2026), so the rate is applied as mills divided by 1,000.
Here is the arithmetic on the median. The assessed value is $489,717 x 20% = $97,943.40. The overall millage for the city of Bentonville in the Bentonville school district is 62 mills: 46.8 school, 5.5 city and 9.7 county (Arkansas DFA 2025 Millage Report, 2026 collections). So $97,943.40 x 0.062 = $6,072 a year, or $506 a month.
Leave the homestead credit out. It is up to $600 on a homestead beginning with the 2026 tax bills (Arkansas DFA, accessed 2026-10-23), and $675 for assessment year 2026 and later under Act 174 of 2026, but it applies only to the owner's principal residence, so a rental does not qualify.
Budget about $6,072 a year for taxes on a median-priced property inside Bentonville city limits in the Bentonville school district, and request the complete tax statement for any specific parcel before you make an offer.
Is Bentonville Growing Fast Enough to Support Rental Demand?
Growth is the strongest part of the case. The Census Bureau's April 1, 2020 estimates base for Bentonville was 54,213, and its July 1, 2025 estimate is 63,057 (vintage 2025). That is 63,057 - 54,213 = 8,844 additional residents, and 8,844 / 54,213 = 16.3% growth, the fastest of any Arkansas city over 2020 to 2025 (Talk Business & Politics, citing Census Bureau estimates released May 14, 2026).
Jobs point the same direction. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro, which includes Bentonville along with Tyson Foods in Springdale and J.B. Hunt in Lowell, had 311.6 thousand nonfarm payroll jobs in September 2026, up 2.2% from a year earlier (preliminary; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, data extracted October 20, 2026). Arkansas unemployment was 4.1% in June 2026, against 4.2% nationally (Arkansas Department of Commerce).
More residents and more jobs mean more households needing housing; the open question is the price and rent you pay to get into that demand.
Should I Invest in Bentonville Real Estate as a Long-Term Hold?
The numbers favor three kinds of investors. The first is the long-horizon holder who can wait out a 44-day median sale period and is not counting on a price jump, since the median moved only 0.058% down in the latest year. The second is the buyer who wants negotiating room: time on market rose from 29 to 44 days year over year (Redfin, September 2026). The third is the investor who wants exposure to a metro with 2.2% job growth (September 2026, preliminary) and a city with 16.3% population growth since 2020.
The numbers do not favor a flipper, a short-term holder, or anyone whose plan needs the median price to rise soon. They also do not favor a buyer who has not verified rent, because the deal depends on rent covering the $6,072 tax bill plus the rest of the carrying costs.
An investor in the first group can proceed to underwriting; the others should wait for stronger price or rent evidence.
What Should You Do With These Numbers?
- Collect at least three current rent listings for comparable homes in your target neighborhood, and annualize them against the $489,717 median price (Redfin, three months ending September 2026).
- Request the full Benton County tax statement for the parcel, and compare it with the $6,072 figure computed from the 62-mill overall rate on $97,943.40 of assessed value.
- Underwrite every rental without the homestead credit, which covers only a principal residence (Arkansas DFA).
- Test your offer against the 44-day median time on market (Redfin, September 2026) and negotiate with the longer sale period in mind.
- Stress-test your hold: model a sale price at or below $489,717, since the median was down 0.058% year over year (September 2026).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bentonville a good place to buy a rental property?
Bentonville suits long-term holders: population rose 16.3% from 2020 to the July 1, 2025 estimate, while the median price was flat at $489,717 (down 0.058%, Redfin, three months ending September 2026). Metro payroll jobs also grew 2.2% in the year to September 2026. Homes took a median 44 days to sell, up from 29, so a quick resale is harder. Verify rent comps before buying.
How much is property tax on a house in Bentonville?
Property tax on a Bentonville home at the $489,717 median (Redfin, September 2026) is about $6,072 a year inside city limits in the Bentonville school district. Arkansas taxes real property on 20% of market value, so the assessed value is $97,943.40, and the overall rate of 62 mills (46.8 school, 5.5 city, 9.7 county; Arkansas DFA) applies to that. Request the full bill for any parcel you consider.
Are Bentonville home prices rising or falling?
Bentonville's median sale price is essentially flat to slightly lower. Redfin reported $489,717 for the three months ending September 2026, down 0.058% year over year, while median days on market rose from 29 to 44. Do not underwrite a Bentonville purchase on near-term appreciation; base it on rent, taxes, and a long holding period.
How long does it take to sell a Bentonville property?
The median Bentonville home took 44 days to sell over the three months ending September 2026, up from 29 days a year earlier (Redfin). That is the pace an exit would face today. If you are weighing a rental purchase, plan to hold through a slower sale rather than modeling a quick resale within a year or two.
Who is the best real estate agent in Bentonville for an investor?
The right agent for a Bentonville investor is one who can show a verifiable local track record, real transaction volume, and named experience with rentals and Benton County tax bills. Ask each candidate for closed investment deals and parcel-level tax work. For reference, Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker, Mason Capital Group Real Estate Investment & Trust, has 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas expertise and $2.4B+ in transactions.
In a first conversation, Mason Capital Group will prepare a rent-versus-carrying-cost worksheet for the Bentonville properties you are weighing, including the full Benton County tax bill for each parcel. Visit us at 609 SW 8th Street, 6th Floor, Bentonville, or call 479-925-3333 when you are ready to compare them.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity.
Figures in this article are drawn from Redfin, Bentonville housing market (three months ending September 2026, accessed 2026-10-23); U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, vintage 2025 (April 1, 2020 estimates base; July 1, 2025), and Talk Business & Politics (May 14, 2026); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance (September 2026, preliminary); Arkansas Department of Commerce (June 2026); the Arkansas DFA 2025 Millage Report (2026 collections) and Property Tax Relief page (accessed 2026-10-23); the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division (as of 2026-08-19); the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service property tax fact sheet (2026); and Act 174 of the 2026 Fiscal Session (approved May 1, 2026).