Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Camden grades D− overall, 111th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. It reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, including 75 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also has a long history, with 34 places on the National Register. Camden’s violent crime rate is 7.5 per 1,000 residents, above both Arkansas’ towns (3.6) and U.S. towns (1.6). Its National Register listings include Fort Lookout and Fort Southerland. The median household income is $49K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line.
Where Camden beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Fort LookoutFort Lookout is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 894 in 1850, a peak of 15,823 in 1960, 10,612 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1951 on.
32 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Camden is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Camden, 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 Camden.
Camden has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Reported crimes fell from 485 to 364 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Camden is 28.9 per 1,000 residents. Camden reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Camden Fairview School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Camden Fairview High School, with 652 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 523 | – |
| Camden Fairview High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 652 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
19% of Camden adults have diabetes. Camden beats the Arkansas average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 50% of Camden adults have high blood pressure.
| Camden | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 41% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Camden | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 14.6% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.5% | 76.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.9% | 10.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.1 years of the Camden area’s $51K median household income, the typical home (about $110K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Arkansas towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. The typical value, about $110K, is 10% below its July 2023 peak.
The typical Camden home is worth about $110,000, up 3.2% in a year, 51% below the Arkansas typical home. Camden’s median rent is $768 a month.
| Camden | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $768 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 60% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 35 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Camden.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Camden has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 33° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 6,573 in 2013 to 4,261.
About one in 3 of Camden’s working residents works in town. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Camden. Since 2013, Camden has lost 2,312 jobs, to 4,261 in 2023.
| Camden | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 21% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Arkansas average. Camden has lost 4.6% of its people since 2020, down to 10,127 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 19% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| Camden | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 19% | 20% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 25% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.2 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Camden | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.9% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.5% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.8% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 12.2% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.3% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Sandy Beach Park, at 44 acres.
| Camden | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sandy Beach Park | 0.1 mi | 44 |
| 2. Carnes Park | — | 38 |
| 3. Ira Clark Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Camden
About 4 of every 100 Camden residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
12,183 counted in 2010 and 10,612 in 2020; an estimated 10,127 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 4.6% since 2020, after 12.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
32 places in Camden on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Camden.
City in Arkansas, United States
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlooking the Ouachita River, the city developed because of the river. The recorded history began in 1782 when a Spanish military post was established on the site of an old French trading post called Écore à Fabri. When Ouachita County was formed in 1842, American settlers changed the name to Camden. The city became an important port during the steamboat era when Camden became known as the “Queen City” of the Ouachita. In 1864, Camden became the unintended focus of the Red River Campaign, a major Ci…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Camden grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #111 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 2.1 years of the area's median household income ($51,429 across the Camden, AR area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
23 notable people were born here, including Ne-Yo and Tommy Tuberville.
