Best PlacesHot Spring County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hot Spring 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.
Hot Spring County ranks 2,671st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hot Spring 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.
Hot Spring County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hot Spring County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of counties
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 72% of counties
Where Hot Spring County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of counties
- Short commute29.9 minutes each way, better than only 16% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hot Spring County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hot Spring County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,018, 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 Hot Spring County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Hot Spring County
Hot Spring County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hot Spring County.
Who works in Hot Spring County, and how
Work in Hot Spring County centers on health care & social and retail trade. 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 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Hot Spring County
Hot Spring County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hot Spring County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hot Spring County growing, and who is moving in?
Hot Spring County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Little Rock, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hot Spring County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hot Spring County, month by month
Hot Spring County sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Hot Spring County
The nearest airport, Memorial Field, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 172 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hot Spring County
Schools across Hot Spring County average a C, better than 30% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ouachita Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Lakeside Intermediate SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Bismarck Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bismarck Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Lakeside Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Glen Rose Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Bismarck High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Lakeside High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Ouachita High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hot Spring County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hot Spring County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Hot Spring County
Is Hot Spring County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hot Spring County ranks 2,671st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and a stable housing market, and lowest on civic engagement and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hot Spring County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,223. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $61,018 median income, cost of living beats 24% of counties.
Is Hot Spring County safe?
Hot Spring County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $527 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hot Spring County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 34. That works out to about 86 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of counties.
Is Hot Spring County good for families?
Schools beat 30% of counties, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $481 a month.
Compare Hot Spring County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hot Spring County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hot Spring 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.
Hot Spring County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hot Spring County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hot Spring County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hot Spring County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hot Spring County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hot Spring 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.