Best PlacesKibler, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kibler, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kibler ranks 22,867th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Civic engagement pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Kibler
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.
Kibler's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kibler ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 85% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 81% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 74% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 74% of towns
Where Kibler ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 18% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 22% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of towns
- School gradeC, better than only 31% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Kibler
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kibler home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,185, 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 Kibler's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kibler
Kibler runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kibler.
Who works in Kibler, and how
Work in Kibler centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Kibler
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kibler.
What the weather is like in Kibler, month by month
Kibler sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 40° | 29° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 96° | 83° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Kibler
The nearest airport, Fort Smith Regional, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 233 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kibler
Schools across Kibler average a C, better than 31% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- James R. Tate Elem. SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alma Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Butterfield Junior High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Van Buren High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Alma High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kibler school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kibler 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 Kibler against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Kibler
Is Kibler a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kibler ranks 22,867th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and fast internet, 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 Kibler expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,644. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $82,185 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is Kibler safe?
Yes, Kibler is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $383 per resident a year.
Compare Kibler with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kibler. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kibler 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.
Kibler detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kibler: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kibler: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kibler: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kibler: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kibler 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.