Best PlacesDes Arc, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Des Arc, 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.
Des Arc ranks 43,981st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Des Arc
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.
Des Arc's strengths and weaknesses
Where Des Arc ranks high
- Cheap childcare$459 a month, better than 97% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of towns
- BikingBetter than 85% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 85% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of towns
Where Des Arc ranks low
- Household income$36,466 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Des Arc
A household needs to earn about $21,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Des Arc home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $36,466, 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 Des Arc's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Des Arc
Des Arc 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 Des Arc.
Who works in Des Arc, and how
Work in Des Arc centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Des Arc
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Des Arc.
What the weather is like in Des Arc, month by month
Des Arc sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 30° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 49° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Des Arc
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around Des Arc
Schools across Des Arc average a B, better than 70% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Des Arc Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Hazen Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Augusta Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Des Arc High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Hazen High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Augusta High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Des Arc school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Des Arc 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 Des Arc against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Des Arc
Is Des Arc a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Des Arc ranks 43,981st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, walkability, and biking, and lowest on low incomes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Des Arc expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $82,722. The overall cost of living runs about 27% below the national average. Set against a $36,466 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is Des Arc safe?
Des Arc is safer than 16% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $718 per resident a year.
Compare Des Arc with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Des Arc. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Des Arc 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.
Des Arc detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Des Arc: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Des Arc: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Des Arc: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Des Arc: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Des Arc 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.