Best PlacesArkansas Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Arkansas, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Arkansas ranks 48th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on low incomes and education levels. It does better on affordable childcare, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Arkansas
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Arkansas
The counties of Arkansas, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Benton County & Washington County
Heat risk is lower, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Pulaski County & Faulkner County
Fewer homes sit empty and more adults hold degrees.
Sebastian County & Crawford County
Scores close to Pulaski County & Faulkner County, except that tree cover is thinner here.
Saline County, Garland County & Jefferson County
Fewer households have young kids and big-city amenities are further off.
Craighead County, Greene County & Mississippi County
Prices have run up less and homes cost less.
Baxter County, Boone County & Marion County
It is quieter, though health outcomes score lower.
White County, Lonoke County & Crittenden County
Crime runs higher.
Miller County, Columbia County & Hempstead County
Biking is worse and advertised internet is slower.
Ashley County, Drew County & Arkansas County
Schools score lower and health care is harder to reach.
Arkansas shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Arkansas' strengths and weaknesses
Arkansas ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Affordable childcare is the standout, in the top 1% of states. A stable housing market and state finances follow.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: low incomes, education levels, and health outcomes all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Arkansas ranks high
- Cheap childcare$590 a month, better than 99% of states
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than 83% of states
- Low property taxBetter than 79% of states
- Short commute22.5 minutes each way, better than 75% of states
Where Arkansas ranks low
- Household income$66,982 median, better than only 5% of states
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 7% of states
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of states
- TransitBetter than only 11% of states
- BikingBetter than only 11% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Arkansas
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Arkansas home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,982, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Arkansas' effective rate of 0.56%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Arkansas
Arkansas's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Arkansas.
Who works in Arkansas, and how
Work in Arkansas centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Arkansas
Arkansas has less parkland per resident than most states and less late-night activity than most states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Arkansas and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Arkansas, month by month
Arkansas sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 55° |
The best schools in and around Arkansas
Schools across Arkansas average a C, better than 27% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Baker Interdistrict Elem. Sch.A+ · 75% proficient
- Willowbrook Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Greenbrier Springhill Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bright Field Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- J William Fulbright Junior High SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Greenbrier Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Haas Hall BentonvilleA+ · 87% proficient
- Haas Hall AcademyA+ · 83% proficient
- Haas Hall Academy At The LaneA · 79% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Arkansas school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Arkansas measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Arkansas against the other 49 states.
Who Arkansas suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Arkansas
Is Arkansas a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Arkansas ranks 48th of 50 states. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and state finances, and lowest on low incomes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Arkansas expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,114. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $66,982 median income, cost of living beats 15% of states.
Is Arkansas safe?
Arkansas is safer than 27% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $617 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Arkansas?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 33. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 41% of states.
What are the best areas in Arkansas?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Benton County & Washington County, Pulaski County & Faulkner County, and Sebastian County & Crawford County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Arkansas good for families?
Schools beat 27% of states, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $590 a month.
Is Arkansas good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 15% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 43% of states. About 9% of workers already work from home.
Compare Arkansas with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Arkansas. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Arkansas represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Arkansas detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Arkansas: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Arkansas: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Arkansas: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Arkansas: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Arkansas detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.