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Movers’ Report · Arkansas week of September 17, 2026

Arkansas gas jumps 3% while unemployment ticks down to 4.0%

Home values barely budged and listing prices actually dipped, so housing's holding steady even as the drive to work costs more.

By The Honest Local · every number links to its public source · 4 readings across 1 places
+3.0%regular gas price in Arkansas, $3.85 to $3.97AAA · Sep 17
Arkansas
Arkansas, where this week’s biggest move landed.
The movers largest changes this period, with source and date

Fill up in Arkansas this week and you'll feel it. AAA's got the state average at $3.97 a gallon, up from $3.85. That's a real jump for anyone commuting a distance, and it hits every household the same regardless of income.

The one bit of good news, unemployment actually fell, down 0.2 points to 4.0% per BLS. That's a modest improvement, but it's real. Fewer people out of work means a little more security in paychecks, even if those paychecks buy less gas now.

Housing's the calm part of the story. Zillow's home value index barely moved, up 0.2% to $227,264. Listing prices actually dipped slightly, per FRED and realtor.com, down to $320,000 from $320,950. Nobody's getting priced out or bailed out this month. If you're weighing a move to Arkansas, the housing math hasn't changed much, but budget for pricier gas and enjoy the slightly better job picture.

  • Arkansas's regular gas price rose 3.0% to $3.97 in September 17, 2026, per AAA's state average.
  • Arkansas's unemployment rate fell 0.2 points to 4.0% in July 2026, per BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
  • Arkansas's median listing price fell 0.3% to $320,000 in August 2026, per FRED/realtor.com's MEDLISPRIAR series.
  • Arkansas's typical home value rose 0.2% to $227,264 in August 2026, per Zillow's Home Value Index.
How this report is built. Every figure comes from a public series read this week: Zillow’s rent and home value indexes, FRED’s listing price series from realtor.com, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ local unemployment rates, and AAA’s state gas averages. The prose is drafted from those readings and checked number by number against them before it publishes. Unemployment moves are shown in percentage points. Nothing here is a forecast.
Sources and method
  1. AAA, AR state average · Regular gas
  2. FRED / realtor.com, series MEDLISPRIAR · Listing price
  3. Zillow Home Value Index (state) · Home value
  4. BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · Unemployment

The Honest Local publishes a Movers’ Report for each state it covers, weekly, from public data. Readings that go stale are dropped, not carried. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.