Household incomes in Ash Flat are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Ash Flat itself; outside it, Batesville draws the most (9%, 32 miles). 22.4% of residents are in poverty, against 16.0% across Arkansas. The two grades for Ash Flat are D− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Ash Flat in brief
Ash Flat has far more jobs than workers
Ash Flat has 1,375 jobs, 4.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 2,200 people are in town, 90% more than the 1,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
Ash Flat’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ash Flat is Batesville, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (30) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Ash Flat are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 23 across Arkansas. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Arkansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 329 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Ash Flat
On income, poverty and job access, Ash Flat is better than 3% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Ash Flat’s grade.
Unemployment (4.6%) is left out: Ash Flat’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Ash Flat could be anywhere from D− to D.
How a workday changes Ash Flat
On a workday 263 residents head out to work, 66 work right here, and 1,309 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Ash Flat on a workday afternoon, 90% more than live here.
4.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far it is to work from Ash Flat
About 29% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 14 minutes each way for Ash Flat’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ash Flat workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 356 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The towns that send workers to Ash Flat
Where Ash Flat clocks in
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What Ash Flat’s employers do
1,375 jobs are based in Ash Flat.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ash Flat, 2013 → 2023: 1,090 → 1,375. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ash Flat’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Ash Flat commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ash Flat is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Ash Flat near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 374 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.7% of Ash Flat households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Ash Flat’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600, and where Ash Flat sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Roland AR | 1,147 | $175K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 372 | Wooster AR | 1,150 | $112K | 5.8% | 2.3% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,170 | Redfield AR | 1,492 | $72K | 8.3% | 3.0% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,073 | Vienna Bend LA | 1,502 | $29K | 30.1% | 5.3% | <1% | D− |
| 4,074 | Hackleburg AL | 1,465 | $42K | 24.0% | 6.8% | 16% | D− |
| 4,075 | Ash Flat AR | 1,156 | $42K | 22.4% | 4.6% | 20% | D− |
| 4,076 | Stanton MI | 1,383 | $49K | 31.2% | 8.4% | 11% | D− |
| 4,077 | Yale OK | 1,054 | $43K | 27.7% | 5.6% | 10% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ash Flat, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
Next door to Ash Flat
The biggest share goes to Cherokee Village (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ash Flat workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash Flat | – | D− | B+ | 14 min | $41,667 |
| Cherokee Village | 3% | D− | C− | 22 min | $37,326 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ash Flat’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ash Flat: questions
What is the median household income in Ash Flat?
$41,667 (±$9,278) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ash Flat?
22.4%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ash Flat?
14 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ash Flat work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Batesville (9%, 32 mi), Little Rock (8%, 113 mi), Hardy (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ash Flat walkable?
Ash Flat is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ash Flat without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ash Flat, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ash Flat
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.