Best PlacesVan Buren County, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Van Buren 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.
Van Buren County ranks 2,792nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Van Buren 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.
Van Buren County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Van Buren County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 155 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of counties
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 93% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of counties
Where Van Buren County ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 5% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 6% of counties
- Short commute33.2 minutes each way, better than only 7% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Van Buren County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Van Buren County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,817, 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 Van Buren County's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 Van Buren County
Van Buren County runs older than the country, 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 Van Buren County.
Who works in Van Buren County, and how
Work in Van Buren County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Van Buren County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Van Buren County.
Is Van Buren County growing, and who is moving in?
Van Buren County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Little Rock, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Van Buren County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Van Buren County, month by month
Van Buren County sees roughly 155 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 38° | 29° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 75° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Van Buren County
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around Van Buren County
Schools across Van Buren County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cowsert Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Nemo Vista Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Marshall Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nemo Vista Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Clinton Jr High SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Quitman Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Clinton High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Marshall High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Quitman High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Van Buren County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Van Buren 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 Van Buren County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Van Buren County
Is Van Buren County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Van Buren County ranks 2,792nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, the weather, and affordable childcare, and lowest on biking and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Van Buren County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $143,304. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $48,817 median income, cost of living beats 7% of counties.
Is Van Buren County safe?
Van Buren County is safer than 54% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $481 per resident a year.
Compare Van Buren County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Van Buren County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Van Buren 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.
Van Buren County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Van Buren County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Van Buren County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Van Buren County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Van Buren County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Van Buren 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.