Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,045, settled in 1897. Public schools that outperform most of Arkansas.
Trash day: look up yoursDe Queen gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $183K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the county’s $54K median household income. It grades C overall, 47th of 123 graded towns in Arkansas. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with ice storms at the top. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 90% of Arkansas towns. 48% of working residents work locally in De Queen, against 21% in Arkansas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. De Queen is home to Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas. Among 123 Arkansas towns, just 5 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than De Queen.
Where De Queen beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Dequeen Elementary School | 3–5 | 558 |
| Dequeen Primary | K–2 | 555 |
| Dequeen Middle School | 6–7 | 354 |
| Widest gap | De Queen | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 28.8% | 11.3% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far De Queen is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,200 in 1900, 6,105 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 3 maps from 1913 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in De Queen, 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 De Queen.
De Queen pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and draws workers from Horatio and beyond, but it has little public open land.
29% of De Queen adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Among 123 Arkansas towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than De Queen. 36% of De Queen adults say their health is fair or poor.
| De Queen | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 25% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 34% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 19% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 11% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | De Queen | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 25% | 28.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 28.8% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $183K.
Its public schools are run by the De Queen School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Dequeen High School, with 550 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dequeen Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 558 | B+ |
| Dequeen High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 550 | B− |
| Dequeen Junior High SchoolTop results in townGrades 8–9 | Grades 8–9 | 348 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
3,701 jobs are based in De Queen, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 23% of working residents cross a state line to work, Hochatown among the top destinations.
The average trip to work in De Queen is 20 minutes. The top destinations are Hochatown (6%), Nashville (3%) and Little Rock (2%). 17% of residents live below the poverty line in De Queen.
| De Queen | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 2017, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in De Queen.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
De Queen’s violent crime rate is 3.6 per 1,000 residents. Within Arkansas, it does better than 66% of towns. De Queen’s property crime rate is 15.2 per 1,000 residents.
| De Queen | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.2 per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
De Queen has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 31° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 8.9% in the year to September 2026.
| De Queen | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $757 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Just 45 of its 3,926 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in De Queen itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Herman Dierks Park | — | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of De Queen
About 6 of every 100 De Queen residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
Where De Queen’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in De Queen on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in De Queen.
City in Arkansas, United States
De Queen ( DEE-kween) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 6,105 at the 2020 census. The placename is the anglicization of the family name of the Dutch merchant and railway financier, Jan de Goeijen (1861–1944). De Goeijen was reportedly rather unhappy with the deformation of his name.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
De Queen grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #47 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D− for health, C for safety and A for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Arkansas, it does better than 66% of towns.
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 B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Wes Watkins and Collin Raye.
