$215,000 buys the median home in Little Rock right now. With 20% down, that's a $43,000 down payment and a $172,000 loan, set against a $55,000 median household income.
Property taxes in Little Rock run 0.63% of assessed value, below the 1.1% national average. On the median home, that's $1,355 a year, or $113 added to the monthly payment.
Arkansas levies a state income tax on top of the $1,323/month this mortgage runs. Model your real after-tax take-home before deciding how much payment you can carry.
Little Rock's cost of living index is 83, below the 100 national baseline. That's on top of the housing numbers above, not instead of them.
Little Rock's median home price runs 23% higher than nearby Fort Smith: $175,000 there versus $215,000 here.