Work means Fort Smith for more than half of Barling’s working residents
Jobs and income earn Barling B−; getting around on foot earns it C. Measured by household income, Barling is behind 82% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 18 minutes each way, next to 23 for Arkansas and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Barling stands out on work
More than half of Barling works in Fort Smith
1,220 working residents, 59%, have their main job in Fort Smith, 5.3 miles away across the town line. That’s 30 times as many as work in Barling itself. The commute map ↓
Most Barling residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Barling than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Barling fell from 1,188 in 2013 to 665 in 2023, −44%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Barling are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Arkansas. That’s about 38 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.
How Barling earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Barling is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #34 of 123 in Arkansas. Unemployment holds Barling’s grade up (1.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($54,387, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Barling could be anywhere from C to B+.
The places Barling commutes to
Where Barling clocks in
59% of workers
8% of workers
3% 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.
How far it is to work from Barling
About 20% 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.
What Barling’s employers do
665 jobs are based in Barling.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Barling, 2013 → 2023: 1,188 → 665. 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 Barling’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Barling spends getting to work: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Barling workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,268 commuters (the 9% 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.
Who works in Barling, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,015 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 624 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Barling on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.32 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Few in Barling walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Barling is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns, #76 of 123 in Arkansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Arkansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,493 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). 0.5% of Barling households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Barling’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Barling is 1,997th of 3,612 U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 229 | Austin AR | 4,017 | $114K | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 467 | Cave Springs AR | 6,701 | $146K | 1.8% | 4.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 757 | Haskell AR | 4,362 | $86K | 7.6% | 0.8% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,995 | Penn Township PA | 4,098 | $61K | 12.0% | 2.0% | 10% | B− |
| 1,996 | Santa Teresa NM | 6,041 | $63K | 23.9% | 1.9% | 4% | B− |
| 1,997 | Barling AR | 5,452 | $54K | 15.1% | 1.8% | 2% | B− |
| 1,998 | Algona IA | 5,309 | $56K | 6.9% | 2.0% | 55% | B− |
| 1,999 | Bourbon Township IL | 4,173 | $77K | 13.2% | 2.1% | 37% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Barling, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
59% of Barling works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Barling workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barling | – | B− | C | 18 min | $54,387 |
| Fort Smith | 59% | C− | B | 17 min | $54,816 |
| Central City | under 1% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Central City: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fort Smith. Darker towns draw more of Barling’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 Barling: questions
What is the median household income in Barling?
$54,387 (±$8,170) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Barling?
15.1%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Barling?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Barling work?
2% work in town.
Is Barling walkable?
Barling is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Barling without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Barling, from the people who make the trip.
More of Barling
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.