Best PlacesAshley County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Ashley County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Ashley County ranks 2,912th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ashley County
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.
Ashley County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ashley County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 75% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 74% of counties
Where Ashley County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$47,241 median, better than only 5% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Ashley County
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ashley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,241, 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 Ashley County's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ashley County
Ashley County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ashley County.
Who works in Ashley County, and how
Work in Ashley County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Ashley County
Ashley County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Ashley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Ashley County growing, and who is moving in?
Ashley County has lost about 14% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Monroe, LA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Ashley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Ashley County, month by month
Ashley County sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 80° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Ashley County
The nearest airport, Monroe Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ashley County
Schools across Ashley County average a D+, better than 13% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Grove Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Hermitage Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Portland Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamburg Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Lakeside Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Crossett Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Oak Grove High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Hamburg High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Hermitage High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ashley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ashley County 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 Ashley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Ashley County
Is Ashley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ashley County ranks 2,912th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on a weak job market and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ashley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $94,012. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $47,241 median income, cost of living beats 13% of counties.
Is Ashley County safe?
Ashley County is safer than 23% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $676 per resident a year.
Compare Ashley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ashley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ashley County 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.
Ashley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ashley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ashley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ashley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ashley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ashley County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- 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.