Is Jacksonville, Arkansas a good place to buy near Little Rock AFB?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Licensed in Arkansas ·
Short answer
Jacksonville is the base town, minutes from the gate, and the cheapest place to buy on the Highway 67/167 corridor: 1960s-to-1990s housing near the base, newer subdivisions on the north and west sides, and a rental market shaped by decades of base turnover. It suits a first-purchase airman or a family that wants the commute short and the payment low, and it is where the VA appraisal and an inspection earn their keep. Cabot is the schools answer; Jacksonville is the proximity-and-price answer.
- Commute
- Main gate via Vandenberg Blvd or Highway 67/167, 5–10 min; Little Rock 20–25 min
- Housing stock
- 1960s–1990s ranches near the base; 2000s–2020s subdivisions north and west; heavy investor ownership
- Price band
- Lowest on the corridor; below Sherwood, well below Cabot
Jacksonville grew up around the base — Little Rock Air Force Base opened in 1955 and the city has wrapped its gate ever since — and it is the first place most airmen look because it is the closest and the cheapest. It is a small city with a real downtown, the base's retail, and a housing stock that has been rented and sold by generations of C-130 crews.
Who lives here and why
Junior and mid-grade airmen, single and with families, who want minutes to the gate and a low payment; instructors and permanent party who bought here on a first tour and kept the house; and a lot of retirees. The near-base neighborhoods are 1960s-to-1990s ranches on modest lots, a large share of them investor-owned, which means deep inventory and plenty of comparables for the appraiser — and a former-rental condition check on most of them. The newer subdivisions north and west of town are where families with a bit more budget land before deciding whether Cabot's schools are worth the drive. Jacksonville's district is its own, split from Pulaski County Special a decade ago.
The commute
Five to ten minutes to the main gate from anywhere in town on Vandenberg Boulevard or the highway. Little Rock is twenty to twenty-five minutes south on 67/167. The Little Rock AFB guide maps the corridor by direction.
Housing stock and what the appraiser sees
Former rentals show their history: roofs at or past their life — Arkansas is hail country — HVAC and water heaters on borrowed time, peeling paint on the pre-1978 homes, and wood-destroying insect damage and crawlspace moisture in the humid climate (a WDI inspection is standard practice on Arkansas VA purchases). None of that kills a deal; a repair condition is a negotiation, and sellers who have rented the house for years expect it. An inspection is worth more here than anywhere else on the corridor. The appraisal page covers how conditions are cleared.
The loan angle
Jacksonville is one of the lowest-cost Air Force base towns in the country, and a first-use VA loan with no down payment leaves the widest margin against BAH on the corridor — the BAH-to-payment calculator with Pulaski County's low rate shows it. It is the textbook keep-as-a-rental house at the next PCS, because the schoolhouse's student flow never stops; the renting-out page covers the decision and the second-tier calculation covers the next purchase. Arkansas exempts 100% disabled veterans from property tax on the homestead entirely; the Arkansas benefits page covers it.
Around Little Rock AFB
Local details
- Schools
- Jacksonville North Pulaski School District (verify boundaries)
- Taxes and fees
- Pulaski County and city of Jacksonville; low property tax; few HOAs on older stock
- Watch for
- Former-rental condition — roofs, HVAC, water heaters; hail-aged roofs; WDI; crawlspace moisture; peeling paint pre-1978
- BAH here
- Official rate by grade →
What schools serve Jacksonville?
Jacksonville is served by Jacksonville North Pulaski School District. A district formed in 2016 when Jacksonville left Pulaski County Special; the middle school is Jacksonville Middle. Attendance zones change; confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district.
| School | Grades | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bobby G. Lester Elementary | K-5 | Bayou Meto, Jacksonville Elementary and Murrell Taylor serve the other city zones; the district also runs the on-base Arnold Drive elementary |
| Jacksonville High School | 9-12 |
Performance data: the state's official school report card. This site does not publish third-party ratings; they change yearly and are not the district's own numbers.
More neighborhoods near Little Rock Air Force Base
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