Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Helena-West Helena grades low on several counts. Health is its weak spot (D−): on CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. Where it does best is walkability: it is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. All told, that adds up to a D− overall and a rank of 120th of 123 in Arkansas. Nationally, it does behind almost every U.S. town. Safety is weaker too: it reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, including 131 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Incomes are weaker too — the median household income is $36K, and nearly a third of residents live below the poverty line. Schools are weaker too: its public schools trail 90% of Arkansas towns on state tests and graduation.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · FBI crime data, 2025 · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results.
Where Helena-West Helena beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Centennial Baptist Church| Widest gap | Helena-West Helena | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 25.1% | 10.4% |
Centennial Baptist Church is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 614 in 1850, 9,519 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers and 4 maps from 1939 on.
47 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Helena-West Helena is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Helena-West Helena, 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 Helena-West Helena.
Helena-West Helena has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Arkansas rate and has poverty well above the Arkansas rate.
At 0.9 years of the county’s $40K median household income, the typical home (about $38K) costs less against local pay than in any other Arkansas town; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. Values fell 3.9% in the past year while the Arkansas typical home rose 3.4%.
Only 5 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower share of homes lived in by their owners than Helena-West Helena. In Helena-West Helena, the midpoint rent is $771 a month. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home lost 3.9% of its value.
| Helena-West Helena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $771 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Helena West Helena School District runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Central High School, with 439 students. Two of the 6 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.F. Wahl Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 539 | D |
| Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 439 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
In Helena-West Helena, 14% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. No town among the 123 in Arkansas we compare has a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Helena-West Helena. What’s more, the share of adults in Helena-West Helena who smoke cigarettes is 23%, above both Arkansas’ towns (17%) and U.S. towns (14%). Only 3 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Helena-West Helena.
| Helena-West Helena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 25% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Helena-West Helena | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.9% | 14.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 8.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 25.1% | 10.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime runs at 15.9 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Arkansas rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−.
Helena-West Helena’s rate of thefts and burglaries comes in at 28.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Helena-West Helena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.9 per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28.7 per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In 8 parks and preserves, walkers have 5.8 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Helena Riverpark, 84 acres with 1.5 miles of trail. Helena-West Helena’s density of trails stands at 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Helena-West Helena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Helena Riverpark | 1.5 mi | 84 |
| 2. Mississippi River State Park | — | 28 |
| 3. Cleo Stroger Dunnings Park | 0.1 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 33° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
236 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 31 properties have flooded more than once.
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in two thirds of U.S. communities. Helena-West Helena has had 236 paid flood insurance claims since 1978. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 42% come from earthquakes and 27% from inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Helena-West Helena after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2020.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 3,763 in 2013 to 2,463.
Since 2013, Helena-West Helena has lost 1,300 jobs, to 2,463 in 2023. Half commute less than 17 miles. The typical journey to work locally is 20 minutes.
| Helena-West Helena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 32% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 21% | 8% |
| Median household income | $36,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Helena-West Helena
About 2 of every 100 Helena-West Helena residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
12,282 counted in 2010 and 9,519 in 2020; an estimated 8,216 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 13.8% since 2020, after 22.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
47 places in Helena-West Helena on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Helena–West Helena (; ) is the county seat of and the largest city within Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The current city was consolidated, effective January 1, 2006, from the two Arkansas cities of Helena and West Helena. Helena is sited on lowlands between the Mississippi River and the eastern side of Crowley's Ridge. West Helena is located on the western side of Crowley's Ridge, a geographic anomaly in the typically flat Arkansas Delta. The Helena Bridge, one of Arkansas's four Mississippi River bridges, carries U.S. Route 49 across to Mississippi. The combined population of the two cities was 15,012 at the 2000 census and at the 2010 census, the official population was 12,282…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Helena-West Helena grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #120 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
