Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jacksonville earns a D−, 108th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns, mostly because of safety and schools. Its police reported 281 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 98% of U.S. towns. Its schools rank behind 90% of the state's. One bright spot: homes are within reach, about $172K for a typical one, or 2.6 years of the Little Rock metro’s $67K median household income. Jacksonville’s violent crime rate is 9.7 per 1,000 residents, above both the Arkansas town median (3.6) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Its National Register listings include Bayou Meto (Reed's Bridge) Battlefield and McCraw Cemetery. Jacksonville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Jacksonville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Jacksonville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Jacksonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,474 in 1950, 29,477 in 2020. The archive holds 21 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jacksonville. Close and well known come first.
14 mi National Historic SiteLittle Rock Central High School National Historic Site49K visitors a year
12 mi MuseumClinton Presidential Center
11 mi Stadium & arenaSimmons Bank Arena15 mi Zoo & aquariumLittle Rock Zoo12 mi MuseumArkansas Museum of Fine Arts
12 mi MuseumArkansas Inland Maritime MuseumLittle Rock Central High School National Historic Site: Adam Jones, Ph.D., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Clinton Presidential Center: Archipreneur, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Simmons Bank Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum: Jkmattson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jacksonville, 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 Jacksonville.
Jacksonville is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
22 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. Jacksonville’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Dupree Park, at 88 acres.
| Jacksonville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dupree Park | 0.9 mi | 88 |
| 2. Heritage Park | 0.9 mi | 18 |
| 3. Stonewall Park | 0.3 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 926 | D |
| Jacksonville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,208 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 1,557 to 1,222 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Jacksonville is 32.4 per 1,000 residents. Jacksonville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 5,667 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jacksonville’s, it is healthier than 51%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Arkansas it is healthier than 57% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
Jacksonville beats the Arkansas average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 37% of Jacksonville adults feel lonely.
| Jacksonville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Jacksonville | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.4% | 7.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.2% | 10.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Jacksonville for work: only 12% work in town. 20% of residents live below the poverty line in Jacksonville. Since 2013, Jacksonville has lost 393 jobs, to 7,404 in 2023.
| Jacksonville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 22% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 2.6 years of the Little Rock metro’s $67K median household income, the typical home (about $172K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of Arkansas towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 5.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Jacksonville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $930 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
79 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 79 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jacksonville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jacksonville has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 31° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| Jacksonville | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.4 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 27% | 25% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 20% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.4 points). Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 33.4, men 30.7.
| Jacksonville | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.5% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.7% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.3% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.9% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.5% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.9% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.2% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
6 within 15 miles of the center of Jacksonville
About 6 of every 100 Jacksonville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
4 places in Jacksonville on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Jacksonville.
City in Arkansas, United States
Jacksonville is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Jacksonville had a population of 29,477. It is part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan area with 729,135 people as of 2014.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Jacksonville.
| Town | AR rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | #108 | D− | B+ | D− | D | C− |
| Sherwood | #46 | C | B | D | C+ | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jacksonville grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #108 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety 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 B+.
10 notable people were born here, including Kris Allen and Rocky Gray.
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