Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,065, settled in 1873.
Corning gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $103K for a typical one, or 2 years of the county’s $51K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 34th of 123 in Arkansas. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 92% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Corning has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Sheeks House and Oliver House. Among 111 Arkansas towns, just 8 have a lower typical home value than Corning. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Corning beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Park Elementary School | PK–4 | 361 |
| Corning Middle School | 5–8 | 227 |
| Corning High School | 9–12 | 217 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Corning is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for health (better than 8%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 393 in 1880, 3,227 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 3 maps from 1935 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Corning, 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 Corning.
Corning fares better on crime within Arkansas than nationally and trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
The nearest emergency room, Piggott Community Hospital, is 21.1 miles away in a straight line. Within Arkansas it is less healthy than 70% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
18% of Corning adults report frequent physical distress, where Arkansas’ towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 14%. 37% of Corning adults get no exercise outside work. Corning beats the Arkansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6.
| Corning | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Corning | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.2% | 8.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.1% | 18.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Corning School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 361 | A− |
| Corning High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 217 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $103K for the typical one, A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles. At 2 years of the county’s $51K median household income, the typical home (about $103K) costs less against local pay than in 91% of Arkansas towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living.
At $704 a month, Corning’s median rent is below both the Arkansas town median ($880 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026. The typical Corning home is worth about $103,000, up 4.5% in a year, 54% below the Arkansas typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Since 1992, 35 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Corning.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 1,214 in 2013 to 794.
About one in 4 of Corning’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Corning has lost 420 jobs, to 794 in 2023. 15% of residents live below the poverty line in Corning.
| Corning | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 21% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Corning weather station records that about 54 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 76% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 90.2°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 77% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 27.8°.
Corning has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Corning is 90°F. About 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Corning | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 30°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (18% statewide). Corning has lost 4.9% of its people since 2020, down to 3,065 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Corning’s median age is 42.2 years.
| Corning | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 42.2 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 25% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 20% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Corning | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.9% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.3% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.1% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 46% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.9% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.3% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.1% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,100, single groups can be off by several points
At 15.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 86% of Arkansas’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.3 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Victory Lake Sports Complex, at 25 acres.
| Corning | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Victory Lake Sports Complex | — | 25 |
| 2. Wynne Park | 0.2 mi | 8 |
| 3. Corning Pool Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Corning; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Corning residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
3 places in Corning on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Corning is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,227 at the 2020 census. It is one of the two county seats of Clay County, along with Piggott.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Corning grades C+ overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #34 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.
