Best PlacesDesha County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Desha 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.
Desha County ranks 3,081st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Desha 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.
Desha County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Desha County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- Short commute20.8 minutes each way, better than 74% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 69% of counties
Where Desha County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Household income$40,235 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Desha County
A household needs to earn about $23,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Desha County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,235, 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 Desha County's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 Desha County
Desha County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Desha County.
Who works in Desha County, and how
Work in Desha County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Desha County
Desha County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of counties and more parkland per resident than 83% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Desha County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Desha County growing, and who is moving in?
Desha County has lost about 16% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hot Springs, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Desha County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Desha County, month by month
Desha County sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 36° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 79° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Desha County
The nearest airport, Greenville Mid-Delta, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 120 miles away.
The best schools in and around Desha County
Schools across Desha County average a D, better than 7% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mcgehee Elementary SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Drew Central Elem. SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Reed Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dumas Junior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Drew Central Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Mcgehee High SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Drew Central High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Dumas High SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Desha County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Desha 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 Desha County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Desha County
Is Desha County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Desha County ranks 3,081st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on a weak job market and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Desha County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $90,180. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $40,235 median income, cost of living beats 4% of counties.
Is Desha County safe?
Desha County is safer than 6% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,028 per resident a year.
Compare Desha County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Desha County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Desha 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.
Desha County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Desha County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Desha County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Desha County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Desha County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Desha 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.