Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bald Knob earns a D, 89th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 98% of the country. The median household income is $48K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: homes are within reach, about $165K for a typical one, or 3 years of the Searcy area’s $55K median household income. Bald Knob’s violent offense rate is 9.6 per 1,000 residents, against 4.2 in Arkansas’ towns and 1.7 across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Jameson-Richards Cafe and Jameson-Richards Gas Station.
Where Bald Knob beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Campbell-Chrisp House| Widest gap | Bald Knob | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 13.4% | 8.6% |
Census counts: 221 in 1880, 2,522 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1942 and 4 maps from 1935 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Bald Knob is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bald Knob, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bald Knob.
Bald Knob has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
13% of Bald Knob adults binge drink. Among 123 Arkansas towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Bald Knob.
| Bald Knob | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 25% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bald Knob | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 13.4% | 8.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.6% | 18.6% |
| More smokers | 23% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The largest public high school is Bald Knob High School, with 326 students. The Bald Knob School District runs its public schools. Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.L. Lubker Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 517 | B− |
| Bald Knob High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 326 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
| Bald Knob | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here fell from 791 in 2013 to 590.
Most people who work leave Bald Knob to do it: just 11% work in town. Jobs in the town fell by 201 from 2013 to 2023, to 590. The town’s average trip to work stands at 18 minutes. The median commute is under 15 miles.
| Bald Knob | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 22% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Households in Bald Knob have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2025. Compared with nearly three quarters of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 42% come from earthquakes and 27% from inland flooding. The town has had 9 paid flood insurance claims since 1982.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
63.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 44.8% across Arkansas.
Typical home values rose 4.2% in the year to September 2026. Bald Knob’s midpoint rent comes in at $818 a month. Also worth knowing: in Bald Knob, 57% of households own their home.
| Bald Knob | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $818 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
24 violent crimes were reported in 2024. Bald Knob's reported crime rate is close to Arkansas's. Its level of property crime stands at 13.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bald Knob
About 3 of every 100 Bald Knob residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
2,897 counted in 2010 and 2,522 in 2020; an estimated 2,548 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
14 places in Bald Knob on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Bald Knob is a city in White County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,522 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bald Knob grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #89 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
