Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Elm Springs is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 30th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $132K. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 62% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $632K, 7.7 years of the Fayetteville metro’s $82K median household income. Elm Springs’ typical household income is $132,000, against $55,000 in Arkansas’ towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 20 of Arkansas’ 201 towns do worse. Elm Springs's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Elm Springs beats most towns.
1,535 counted in 2010 and 2,361 in 2020; an estimated 2,852 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 20.3% since 2020, after 53.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Elm Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 182 in 1930, 2,361 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elm Springs, 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 Elm Springs.
Elm Springs looks healthier within Arkansas than nationally and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Arkansas; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Arkansas.
At 7.7 years of the Fayetteville metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $633K) costs more against local pay than in any other Arkansas town; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living. Home values rose 40% in five years, to about $633K, against 20% across Arkansas.
The median rent in Elm Springs is $1,321 a month. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 3.3%.
| Elm Springs | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,321 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Elm Springs has 343 jobs for its 1,259 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Half commute less than 8 miles. Elm Springs: 0.8% of working residents work locally. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 218, to 343. The top destinations are Springdale (33%), Fayetteville (17%) and Rogers (10%).
| Elm Springs | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 0.8% | 22% | 8% |
| Work from home | 14% | 6.1% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 18% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Bentonville 4 S weather station, 8 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 195 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 87% of Arkansas places with climate records. The Bentonville 4 S weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 46 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 88% of Arkansas places with climate records.
For Elm Springs, the midsummer high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Arkansas it is healthier than 89% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Arkansas is food insecurity: 11.9% of its 1,737 adults worry about having enough food, against 18.5% statewide.
Among adults in Elm Springs, 11% have diabetes. Just over a third of adults in Elm Springs sleep under 7 hours; 16% report frequent mental distress.
| Elm Springs | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 39% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 20% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Elm Springs | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.9% | 18.5% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 6.8% | 9.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
40% of Elm Springs’s expected losses from natural hazards come from heat waves, followed by inland flooding at 29%. Compared with 58% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. Federal aid has come to Elm Springs households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2017.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 6 of its 3,814 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Elm Springs itself; its outdoors grade is D.
Elm Springs’ trail network density is 0.1 miles per square mile. 0.4 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. It has one park or preserve, 2 acres in all.
| Elm Springs | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elm Springs City Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elm Springs. Close and well known come first.
12 mi MuseumCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art
10 mi Stadium & arenaDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
32 mi LandmarkChrist of the Ozarks
11 mi Stadium & arenaBud Walton Arena
18 mi National Military ParkPea Ridge National Military Park132K visitors a year
29 mi State parkDevil's Den State ParkCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art: Charvex, CC0 · Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium: Bobak at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Christ of the Ozarks: Bobak Ha'Eri, Public domain · Bud Walton Arena: ~ (The Rebel At) ~, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pea Ridge National Military Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Devil's Den State Park: jaystout, CC BY 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Elm Springs
About 4 of every 100 Elm Springs residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
Where Elm Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Arkansas, United States
Elm Springs is a city in Benton and Washington counties, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Elm Springs had a population of 2,361. Located immediately west of Springdale in the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area, Elm Springs has been gaining population in recent years, including a 47% increase in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Elm Springs.
| Town | AR rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elm Springs | #30 | B− | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Springdale | #61 | C | B+ | C− | B− | C− |
| Tontitown | #18 | B | C | B+ | B− | A− |
Elm Springs reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Elm Springs with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Elm Springs grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #30 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades B for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
