Best PlacesProvidence, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Providence, 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.
Providence ranks 38,841st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Providence
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.
Providence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Providence ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 85% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 72% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 69% of towns
Where Providence ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of towns
- Household income$54,453 median, better than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Providence
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Providence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,453, 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 Providence'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 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 Providence
Providence runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Providence.
Who works in Providence, and how
Work in Providence centers on construction 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 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Providence
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Providence.
What the weather is like in Providence, month by month
Providence sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 40° | 30° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 49° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Providence
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around Providence
Schools across Providence average a C−, better than 26% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- White Co. Central Elem. SchoolC · 34% proficient
- H.l. Lubker Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Judsonia Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bald Knob Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Riverview Junior High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- White Co. Central High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Bald Knob High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Riverview High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Providence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Providence 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 Providence against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Providence
Is Providence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Providence ranks 38,841st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and low property taxes, and lowest on the weather and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Providence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,647. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $54,453 median income, cost of living beats 25% of towns.
Is Providence safe?
Yes, Providence is safer than 69% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
Compare Providence with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Providence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Providence 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.
Providence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Providence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Providence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Providence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Providence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Providence 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.