Best PlacesBenton County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Benton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Benton County ranks 220th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $100,280, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are civic engagement, noise, and the weather.
The best neighborhoods in Benton 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.
The best areas in Benton County
The parts of Benton County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Cave Springs
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Bentonville
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Bella Vista
More residents vote and health care is easier to reach.
Decatur
Crime runs lower, though biking is worse.
Pea Ridge & Garfield
It is quieter, though health outcomes score lower.
Lowell, Bethel Heights & Springdale
Scores close to Pea Ridge & Garfield, except that advertised internet is faster here.
Gravette
Heat risk is higher and commutes are longer.
Rogers
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Siloam Springs & Gentry
Prices have run up less and streets are more walkable.
Scores across Benton County run from about the 18th to the 98th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Benton County's strengths and weaknesses
Benton County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. A strong job market is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. What local pay buys and high incomes follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Civic engagement, noise, and the weather hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Benton County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of counties
- Household income$100,280 median, better than 92% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 87% of counties
Where Benton County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 12% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 27% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 27% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Benton County
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Benton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,280, 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 Benton County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Benton County
Benton County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Benton County.
Who works in Benton County, and how
Work in Benton County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Benton County
Benton County has more parkland per resident than 76% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 79% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Benton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Benton County growing, and who is moving in?
Benton County has grown about 31% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Fayetteville, AR metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Benton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Benton County, month by month
Benton County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 59° | 49° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Benton County
The nearest airport, Northwest Arkansas Ntl, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 206 miles away.
The best schools in and around Benton County
Schools across Benton County average a B, better than 71% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Willowbrook Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Evening Star Elementary SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Janie Darr Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bright Field Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- J William Fulbright Junior High SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Washington Junior High SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Haas Hall BentonvilleA+ · 87% proficient
- Haas Hall Academy At The LaneA · 79% proficient
- Founders Classical Academies Of Arkansas High School RogersB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Benton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Benton 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 Benton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Benton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Benton County
Is Benton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Benton County ranks 220th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on civic engagement and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Benton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $346,577. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $100,280 median income, cost of living beats 95% of counties.
Is Benton County safe?
Yes, Benton County is safer than 86% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Benton County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 28. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Benton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Cave Springs, Bentonville, and Bella Vista. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Benton County good for families?
Schools beat 71% of counties, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $671 a month.
Is Benton County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 80% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare Benton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Benton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Benton 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.
Benton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Benton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Benton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Benton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Benton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Benton 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.