“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
4 school districts have their office in Sebastian County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $198.2 million — $178 million to run schools, about $12,459 per student, plus $12.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $27.2 million local (mostly property tax), $136.4 million state, $41.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $186.2 million.
Spent $46.7 million — $44.4 million to run schools, about $11,216 per student, plus $984,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.6 million local (mostly property tax), $34.1 million state, $6 million federal. Long-term debt: $45.3 million.
Spent $13.6 million — $9.5 million to run schools, about $11,391 per student, plus $3.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.6 million local (mostly property tax), $7.5 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $11.2 million.
Spent $11 million — $9.1 million to run schools, about $11,129 per student, plus $1.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $2.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.9 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Sebastian County about $58.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
325 bridges in Sebastian County: 113 in good condition, 195 fair, and 17 poor (5.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 71 - Seb. Co. over Prairie Creek · built 1944 | 8,291 vehicles a day |
| US 71-Seb. Co. over Old Prairie Creek · built 1930 | 8,107 vehicles a day |
| State Highway 45 over Hackett Creek-Seb. Co. · built 1941 | 4,920 vehicles a day |
| State Highway 45 over James Fork Creek Seb.Co. · built 1948 | 2,700 vehicles a day |
| State Highway 45 over Stream- Seb. Co. · built 1968 | 2,700 vehicles a day |
| South Cliff Drive over I 540-Sec 1 Seb. Co. · built 1968 | 2,600 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $52.4 million of work in Sebastian County in fiscal 2025, about $410 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Related: The money trail · Your tax bill, explained · Water · Jails & prisons · Grants. Spot an error? Report it.