Best PlacesSt. Francis County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Francis 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.
St. Francis County ranks 3,110th 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 St. Francis 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.
St. Francis County's strengths and weaknesses
Where St. Francis County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$459 a month, better than 97% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 69% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 64% of counties
Where St. Francis County ranks low
- Household income$40,652 median, better than only 1% of counties
- School gradeF, better than only 2% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 2% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in St. Francis County
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Francis County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,652, 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 St. Francis County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in St. Francis County
St. Francis 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 St. Francis County.
Who works in St. Francis County, and how
Work in St. Francis County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in St. Francis County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across St. Francis County.
Is St. Francis County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Francis County has lost about 19% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Randolph County, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving St. Francis County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in St. Francis County, month by month
St. Francis County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 41° | 34° |
| April | 73° | 62° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of St. Francis County
Memphis International sits about 45 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around St. Francis County
Schools across St. Francis County average an F, better than 2% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Palestine-wheatley Elem. Sch.B− · 44% proficient
- Stewart Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Faulk Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Junior High SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Forrest City Jr. HighF · 11% proficient
- Lincoln AcademyF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Cormorant HighC · 34% proficient
- Palestine-wheatley Senior HighC · 32% proficient
- Marion High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Francis County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Francis 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 St. Francis County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Francis County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in St. Francis County
Is St. Francis County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Francis County ranks 3,110th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on low incomes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. Francis County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $107,837. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $40,652 median income, cost of living beats 2% of counties.
Is St. Francis County safe?
St. Francis County is safer than 3% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,190 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Francis County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 34. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of counties.
Is St. Francis County good for families?
Schools beat 2% of counties, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $459 a month.
Compare St. Francis County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Francis County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Francis 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.
St. Francis County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Francis County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Francis County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Francis County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Francis County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Francis 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.