Best PlacesHoward County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Howard 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.
Howard County ranks 2,649th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Howard 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.
Howard County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Howard County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- Short commute19.8 minutes each way, better than 80% of counties
Where Howard County ranks low
- Household income$49,803 median, better than only 8% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Howard County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Howard County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,803, 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 Howard County's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Howard County
Howard 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 Howard County.
Who works in Howard County, and how
Work in Howard County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Howard County
Howard County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Howard County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Howard County growing, and who is moving in?
Howard County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Texarkana, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Howard County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Howard County, month by month
Howard County sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Howard County
The nearest airport, Texarkana Regional-Webb Field, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 187 miles away.
The best schools in and around Howard County
Schools across Howard County average a C−, better than 24% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wickes Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Murfreesboro Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Joann Walters Elementary SchC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nashville Elementary SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Nashville Junior High SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Dierks High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Cossatot River High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Murfreesboro High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Howard County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Howard 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 Howard County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Howard County
Is Howard County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Howard County ranks 2,649th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and tree cover, 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 Howard County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,589. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $49,803 median income, cost of living beats 13% of counties.
Is Howard County safe?
Howard County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $611 per resident a year.
Compare Howard County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Howard County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Howard 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.
Howard County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Howard County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Howard County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Howard County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Howard County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Howard 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.