Pulaski County is Arkansas's most populous county, with 399,125 people (2020 Census), and home to the state capital, Little Rock. The Arkansas River splits it, and it holds everything from downtown lofts to rural acreage near Lake Maumelle.
The feel
Pulaski County is where Arkansas does business. It was created on December 15, 1818, as one of the state's five original counties and named for Casimir Pulaski, the Polish officer who died fighting in the Revolutionary War. Little Rock became the territorial capital in 1821 and is the county seat. The county sits where the Ouachita Mountains, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and the Coastal Plain meet, so the land changes from wooded hills in the west to flat farmland in the east, with the Arkansas River running through the middle.
The homes
You can find almost any kind of home here. There are downtown condos and lofts, historic houses in Little Rock's older neighborhoods, postwar ranches, newer master planned communities in west Little Rock and Maumelle, and acreage in the unincorporated west and east. The county has eight incorporated cities: Alexander, Cammack Village, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Maumelle, North Little Rock, Sherwood, and Wrightsville. About 85 percent of residents live inside those cities, and the rest live in unincorporated communities such as Roland and Ferndale.
Schools
School district lines in Pulaski County do not follow city limits, which surprises a lot of buyers. The main public districts are the Little Rock School District, North Little Rock School District, Pulaski County Special School District, and Jacksonville North Pulaski School District. Some homes inside Little Rock are in PCSSD, for example. Always confirm the district and school assignment for the specific address with the district itself. The district also affects your property tax rate, since each school district sets its own millage.
Getting around
Interstates 30 and 40 meet in North Little Rock, and Interstates 430 and 630 carry traffic across Little Rock. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System opened the river to barge traffic in 1970. Little Rock Air Force Base, opened in 1955 in Jacksonville, and Camp Robinson in North Little Rock are major military installations. Because the county is large, commute times range from a few minutes in the urban core to half an hour or more from the rural edges.
Life here
The list is long. The William J. Clinton Presidential Library opened downtown in 2004. Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site marks the 1957 desegregation crisis. The State Capitol was completed in 1915, and the Pulaski County Courthouse in 1889. Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Lake Maumelle, and the Arkansas River Trail, with the Big Dam Bridge over Murray Lock and Dam, give the county serious outdoor space close to town.
Owning here
Arkansas assesses real property at 20 percent of market value, and your tax bill is that assessed value times the total millage for your taxing districts. School districts levy a minimum of 25 mills, so the school district you are in has a big effect on the rate. Owners of a primary residence can apply for the state homestead credit. Taxes for a given year are due by October 15 of the following year. Homes near the Arkansas River and other streams should be checked against FEMA flood maps.
