Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 106,623, Fayetteville does unevenly: it grades B−, ranked 26th of 123 in Arkansas. Its public schools beat 85% of Arkansas towns on state tests and graduation and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: its crime rate is higher than 86% of U.S. towns, with 468 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 45% of working residents work locally in Fayetteville, where Arkansas’ towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include University of Arkansas Campus Historic District and Happy Hollow Farm. Only 14 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score higher on health.
Where Fayetteville beats most towns.
Old Main, University of Arkansas
Its founding year, 1828, comes before those of 95% of the Arkansas towns we grade with a known year. Its 81 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Arkansas towns with a listing.
Census counts: 425 in 1840, 93,949 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1845 and 4 maps from 1958 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Fayetteville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fayetteville, 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 Fayetteville.
Fayetteville is shaped by its college students and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports more crime than Springdale and its other graded neighbors.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #1 of 123 in Arkansas.
Across 43 parks and preserves: 49 miles of trail. Lake Sequoyah Park, at 1,180 acres with 6.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Fayetteville’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Fayetteville Park | 6.7 mi | 520 |
| 2. Lake Sequoyah Park | 6.3 mi | 1,180 |
| 3. Lake Wilson Park | 2.4 mi | 316 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 32 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public schools: the Fayetteville School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 765 | A+ |
| Fayetteville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,588 | A− |
| Haas Hall AcademyTop results in townGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 499 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Johnson is next at $344K. The median property tax bill is $1,946, against $1,040 across Arkansas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Values rose 3.6% in the 12 months to September 2026. Just over two in five households live in a home they own in Fayetteville. On the market here: a median 21 days to sell.
| Fayetteville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,065 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 49% | 44% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Springdale (C−) to Farmington (B+). At 42.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 68% of Arkansas’s graded towns.
The rate of reported violence for Fayetteville comes to 4.4 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime for Fayetteville comes to 18.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Fayetteville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Fayetteville Drake Fld weather station records that about 41 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 96% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 89.2°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 91% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 26.4°.
For Fayetteville, the January low is 26°F. About 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Fayetteville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 26°F | 30°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,550 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fayetteville’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Arkansas it is healthier than 91% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
For adults in Fayetteville, the share who smoke cigarettes is 12%. The town beats the Arkansas average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. Only one of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare has a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Fayetteville.
| Fayetteville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 13% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 41% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fayetteville | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 7.5% | 13.3% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.4% | 7.7% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.6% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 43,971 in 2013 to 60,422.
Jobs based in Fayetteville grew to 60,422 in 2023, 16,451 more than in 2013. The typical journey to work here is 19 minutes. The top destinations are Springdale (14%), Bentonville (7%) and Rogers (7%). In Fayetteville, 15% of workers work from home.
| Fayetteville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 15% | 6.1% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
166 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 32 properties have flooded more than once.
Households in Fayetteville have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2017. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage here than in 56% of U.S. communities. 166 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1980.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fayetteville. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
22 mi MuseumCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art
in town Stadium & arenaBud Walton Arena
34 mi LandmarkChrist of the Ozarks
21 mi State parkDevil's Den State Park
25 mi National Military ParkPea Ridge National Military Park132K visitors a yearDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium: Bobak at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: Charvex, CC0 · Bud Walton Arena: ~ (The Rebel At) ~, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Christ of the Ozarks: Bobak Ha'Eri, Public domain · Devil's Den State Park: jaystout, CC BY 2.0 · Pea Ridge National Military Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fayetteville
College town 21 of every 100 Fayetteville residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
73,580 counted in 2010 and 93,949 in 2020; an estimated 106,623 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13.1% since 2020, after 27.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
81 places in Fayetteville on the National Register of Historic Places.
22 notable people were born in Fayetteville.
City in Arkansas, United States
Fayetteville ( FAY-ət-vil) is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States, and its county seat. The population was 93,949 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 106,623 in 2025, making it the second-most populous city in Arkansas and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, within the Ozarks. It is included in the three-county Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, with 546,725 residents in 2020. Named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many settlers had come, Fayetteville, Arkansas, was incorporated on November 3, 1836. It is home to the University of Arkansas, the state's flagship university. When classes are …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fayetteville.
Springdale next door grades lower for schools (B− to Fayetteville’s A) and higher for cost of living (B+ to C+).
| Town | AR rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville | #26 | B− | C+ | D | A | B+ |
| Farmington | #7 | A | B− | B+ | A | A− |
| Johnson | #17 | B+ | B | C | B | B |
| Greenland | — | — | A− | B− | C | B |
| Springdale | #61 | C | B+ | C− | B− | C− |
| Elkins | #10 | A− | A− | C+ | A | B+ |
Greenland has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Fayetteville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fayetteville grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #26 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($81,650 across the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
22 notable people were born here, including Mark Pryor and Mike Conley Jr..
