Best PlacesBaxter County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Baxter 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.
Baxter County ranks 2,416th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Baxter 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.
Baxter County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Baxter County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of counties
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 82% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 82% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
Where Baxter County ranks low
- Household income$50,545 median, better than only 9% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Baxter County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Baxter County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,545, 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 Baxter County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 Baxter County
Baxter County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Baxter County.
Who works in Baxter County, and how
Work in Baxter County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Baxter County
Baxter County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Baxter County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Baxter County growing, and who is moving in?
Baxter County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Marion County, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Baxter County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Baxter County, month by month
Baxter County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 37° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Baxter County
The nearest airport, Boone County, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Baxter County
Schools across Baxter County average a B−, better than 66% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hackler Intermediate SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Viola Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Amanda Gist Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pinkston Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Leslie Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Flippin Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Gainesville HighB− · 45% proficient
- Bakersfield HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Mtn Home High Career AcademicsC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Baxter County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Baxter 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 Baxter County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Baxter County suits
Common questions about living in Baxter County
Is Baxter County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Baxter County ranks 2,416th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Baxter County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,969. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $50,545 median income, cost of living beats 10% of counties.
Is Baxter County safe?
Yes, Baxter County is safer than 66% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $437 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Baxter County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 29. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of counties.
Is Baxter County good for families?
Schools beat 66% of counties, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $481 a month.
Compare Baxter County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Baxter County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Baxter 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.
Baxter County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Baxter County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Baxter County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Baxter County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Baxter County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Baxter 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.