Per resident, Barling records more violent crime than 77% of U.S. towns
The crimes the grade counts held steady per resident from 2023 to 2025. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Barling at C (#34 of 105 graded towns in Arkansas): more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns. Per 1,000 residents a year, 3.4 violent crimes and 13.0 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 6.9 and 24.7 in the rest of Arkansas.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of AR” is every other Arkansas city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Barling
Barling reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 1 Arkansas towns on Barling’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Fort Smith (D−). Neighbors ↓
Among Arkansas towns, closer to the middle
Arkansas’ cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Barling’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 68% of the 105 Arkansas towns we grade, against 33% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Barling’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (3.4) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (13.0) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Crime in Barling per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Barling | Rest of Arkansas | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.9 | 7.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.5 | 6.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.1 | 6.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Barling’s police reported 54 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 6.9 in the rest of Arkansas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
How crime in Barling has moved
Show as a table
| Year | Barling property | Rest of Arkansas property | Barling violent | Rest of Arkansas violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12.1 | 31.4 | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| 2023 | 12.6 | 28.9 | 3.6 | 7.5 |
| 2024 | 13.4 | 24.8 | 3.5 | 6.9 |
| 2025 | 12.9 | 20.5 | 3.1 | 6.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Arkansas.
87 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
17 violent and 70 property, as reported to the FBI by Barling’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Barling’s roads in 2019–2023
Barling had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
That is about what is typical for Arkansas towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (10.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Barling’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Barling’s own rate (12.0) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Barling and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barling | C | 3.4 | 13.0 |
| Fort Smith | D− | 8.8 | 37.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Arkansas towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barling | C | 3.4 | 13.0 |
| White Hall | B− | 2.5 | 9.4 |
| Walnut Ridge | C | 4.3 | 8.8 |
| Sheridan | C | 3.8 | 10.9 |
| Warren | C | 4.1 | 11.5 |
| Mena | C− | 3.2 | 28.3 |
The five graded Arkansas towns closest to Barling’s population (5,452), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Barling. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Barling’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (5,415 in 2025); our figure for Barling is 5,452 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Barling
Is Barling, AR safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Barling reports more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #34 of 105 in Arkansas. Its police reported 3.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 6.9 in the rest of Arkansas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Barling?
3.4 violent and 13.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Arkansas reports 6.9 and 24.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Barling safer than Fort Smith?
Fort Smith reports more crime per resident than Barling: Fort Smith grades D− for safety and Barling C. Fort Smith’s police reported 8.8 violent and 37.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Barling?
Barling’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Barling”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Barling.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.