Best PlacesBlack Oak, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Black Oak, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Black Oak ranks 28,902nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Black Oak
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.
Black Oak's strengths and weaknesses
Where Black Oak ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 85% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 73% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 72% of towns
Where Black Oak ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 16% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Black Oak
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Black Oak home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,765, 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 Black Oak's 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Black Oak
Black Oak'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 Black Oak.
Who works in Black Oak, and how
Work in Black Oak centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Black Oak
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Black Oak.
What the weather is like in Black Oak, month by month
Black Oak sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 39° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Black Oak
Memphis International sits about 52 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Black Oak
Schools across Black Oak average a C, better than 31% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Riverside West Elem. SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Buffalo Is. Central East Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Tyronza ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Riverside High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- East Poinsett Co. High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Buffalo Is. Central HsC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Black Oak school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Black Oak 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 Black Oak against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Black Oak
Is Black Oak a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Black Oak ranks 28,902nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low crime, and state finances, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Black Oak expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,197. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $59,765 median income, cost of living beats 43% of towns.
Is Black Oak safe?
Yes, Black Oak is safer than 91% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
Compare Black Oak with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Black Oak. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Black Oak 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.
Black Oak detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Black Oak: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Black Oak: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Black Oak: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Black Oak: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Black Oak 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.
- 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.