Best PlacesNorth Little Rock, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Little Rock, 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.
North Little Rock ranks 1,977th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Little Rock
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.
North Little Rock's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Little Rock ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 92% of cities
- Cheap childcare$671 a month, better than 91% of cities
- Short commute20.1 minutes each way, better than 86% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 83% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of cities
Where North Little Rock ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 3% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of cities
- Household income$60,203 median, better than only 8% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in North Little Rock
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Little Rock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,203, 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 North Little Rock's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 North Little Rock
North Little Rock'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 North Little Rock.
Who works in North Little Rock, and how
Work in North Little Rock centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in North Little Rock
North Little Rock has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Little Rock and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Little Rock, month by month
North Little Rock sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of North Little Rock
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Little Rock
Schools across North Little Rock average a D+, better than 9% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Park Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Crestwood Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Lakewood Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joe T. Robinson Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Pulaski Heights Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Mayflower Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Joe T. Robinson High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Mayflower High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Little Rock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Little Rock 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 North Little Rock against the other 2,097 cities.
Who North Little Rock suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in North Little Rock
Is North Little Rock a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Little Rock ranks 1,977th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and short commutes, and lowest on crime and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Little Rock expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $186,294. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $60,203 median income, cost of living beats 24% of cities.
Is North Little Rock safe?
North Little Rock is safer than 2% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,112 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Little Rock?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 33. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of cities.
Is North Little Rock good for families?
Schools beat 9% of cities, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $671 a month.
Compare North Little Rock with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Little Rock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Little Rock 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.
North Little Rock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Little Rock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Little Rock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Little Rock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Little Rock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Little Rock 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.