Best PlacesHempstead County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hempstead 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.
Hempstead County ranks 2,915th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hempstead 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.
Hempstead County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hempstead County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- TransitBetter than 76% of counties
- Short commute21.2 minutes each way, better than 71% of counties
Where Hempstead County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 4% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hempstead County
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hempstead County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,396, 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 Hempstead County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 Hempstead County
Hempstead County'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 Hempstead County.
Who works in Hempstead County, and how
Work in Hempstead County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hempstead County
Hempstead County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hempstead County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hempstead County growing, and who is moving in?
Hempstead County has lost about 14% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Texarkana, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hempstead County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hempstead County, month by month
Hempstead County sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 46° | 37° |
| April | 77° | 65° | 55° |
| July | 95° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 79° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Hempstead County
The nearest airport, Texarkana Regional-Webb Field, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 196 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hempstead County
Schools across Hempstead County average a D, better than 4% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Spring Hill Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Nashville Primary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Edward D. Trice Elem. SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hope AcademyB− · 40% proficient
- Nashville Junior High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Yerger Junior High SchoolF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Spring Hill High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Blevins High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Arkansas High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hempstead County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hempstead 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 Hempstead County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hempstead County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Hempstead County
Is Hempstead County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hempstead County ranks 2,915th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on civic engagement and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hempstead County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $122,359. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $52,396 median income, cost of living beats 24% of counties.
Is Hempstead County safe?
Hempstead County is safer than 17% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $740 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hempstead County?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 37. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 45% of counties.
Is Hempstead County good for families?
Schools beat 4% of counties, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $481 a month.
Compare Hempstead County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hempstead County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hempstead 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.
Hempstead County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hempstead County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hempstead County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hempstead County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hempstead County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hempstead 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.