Best PlacesCleveland County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cleveland 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.
Cleveland County ranks 2,894th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cleveland 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.
Cleveland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cleveland County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 74% of counties
- Cheap childcare$613 a month, better than 72% of counties
Where Cleveland County ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cleveland County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cleveland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,736, 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 Cleveland County's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cleveland County
Cleveland County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cleveland County.
Who works in Cleveland County, and how
Work in Cleveland County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Cleveland County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Cleveland County.
Is Cleveland County growing, and who is moving in?
Cleveland County has lost about 12% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Little Rock, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cleveland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cleveland County, month by month
Cleveland County sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Cleveland County
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 146 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cleveland County
Schools across Cleveland County average a C, better than 35% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Woodlawn Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Rison Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Fordyce Elementary SchoolsC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Star City Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Rison High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Woodlawn High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Fordyce High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cleveland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cleveland 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 Cleveland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Cleveland County
Is Cleveland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cleveland County ranks 2,894th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and state finances, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cleveland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $134,772. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $53,736 median income, cost of living beats 6% of counties.
Is Cleveland County safe?
Cleveland County is safer than 25% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $646 per resident a year.
Compare Cleveland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cleveland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cleveland 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.
Cleveland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cleveland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cleveland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cleveland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cleveland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cleveland 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.