Van Lyell House · National Register of Historic Places
Lake Hamilton’s story
77 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 maps from 1966 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1949Lake Hamilton is settled
Lake HamiltonAR
A town of 2,127, settled in 1949.
1 bordering townMap →
Van Lyell House · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
2,127
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$406K
Census ACS
Household income
$74K
median
Median age
37.9
years
Jobs based here
484
A commuter town
Is Lake Hamilton a good place to live?
The best of Lake Hamilton’s subject grades is an A− for schools; the weakest is a D for cost of living. No town in Arkansas scores lower than Lake Hamilton on cost of living. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 80% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Only 17 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score lower on the outdoors. Van Lyell House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lake Hamilton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Lake Hamilton for work
Where Lake Hamilton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
484jobs based in Lake Hamilton
3%of working residents work in town
7 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Lake Hamilton grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Lake Hamilton is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $406K, 7.1 years of the Hot Springs metro’s $57K median household incomeDOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →SchoolsBeat 82% of Arkansas districts on tests and graduationA−Open →HealthCHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs 4.4 miles awayCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 8 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →Jobs & incomeC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 21 attractions →Hot Springs National Park and 4 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Hamilton. Close and well known come first.
5 mi National ParkHot Springs National Park2.5M visitors a year7 mi Theme parkMagic Springs and Crystal Falls
2 mi GardenGarvan Woodland Gardens6 mi Zoo & aquariumArkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo6 mi MuseumMid-America Science MuseumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Hot Springs National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Garvan Woodland Gardens: Nngowen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Getting set up
Moving to Lake Hamilton: who provides what
Lake Hamilton is unincorporated, so Garland County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerEntergy Arkansas13.4¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterHot Springs UtilitiesNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesGarland CountyGarland County provides services here
Register to voteIn personArkansas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereGarland County ClerkGarland County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2015
ZIP code7191371913 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lake Hamilton.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Natural hazards: very high risk in Lake Hamilton, mostly inland flooding
Expected losses in Lake Hamilton break down as 63% from inland flooding and 15% from tornadoes.
80risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesIce storms
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
About two in five of Lake Hamilton’s working residents commute to Hot Springs
The share of working residents in Lake Hamilton who work locally: 3.5%. Since 2013, Lake Hamilton has lost 89 jobs, to 484 in 2023. The middle household income for Lake Hamilton comes to $74,000, against $55,000 in Arkansas’ towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Half commute less than 7 miles.
3%work in town
| Lake Hamilton | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.5% | 22% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Lake Hamilton3%
Hot Springs41%
Little Rock14%
Piney3%
North Little Rock3%
7 mi
median commute distance
484
jobs based in Lake Hamilton
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC
Residents of Lake Hamilton are less healthy than 70% of U.S. towns
Among adults in Lake Hamilton, 15% have diabetes. The town beats the Arkansas average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 47% of Lake Hamilton adults have high blood pressure, where Arkansas’ towns sit at 41% and U.S. towns at 35%.
30%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Lake Hamilton | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 41% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
32 measures vs. Arkansas
9 better19 too close to call4 worse
| What stands out | Lake Hamilton | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.9% | 18.6% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 8.2% |
CHI St. Vincent Hospital Hot Springs
In Hot Springs · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Who lives here
Young adults are less common in Lake Hamilton than in Arkansas
Just over a third of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 26% across Arkansas. Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 25% of residents (18% statewide).
37.9median age · AR 38.5
Lake HamiltonArkansasUnited States
Ages · share of residents
22%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma0%
High school38%
Some college20%
Associate’s8%
Bachelor’s22%
Graduate12%
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 28% and 88% women
The Census survey reached too few of Lake Hamilton’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±30 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Lake Hamilton | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 21.6% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.2% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.2% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.8% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.5% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.3% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.3% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.7% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.6% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.3% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
1″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter33–55°
Spring50–74°
Summer69–91°
Fall50–75°
Nov 13
typical first frost
Mar 19
typical last frost
+0.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HousingCost of living grade D
A home in Lake Hamilton sells for about $487K at the median
Homes sold in Lake Hamilton spent a median 63 days on the market. Sellers in Lake Hamilton got 96.1% of the asking price, typically. For households here, the share who own their home is 73%.
$487Kmedian sale price
| Lake Hamilton | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 73% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,129 a month | $878 a month | $1,185 a month |
Market temperature
63
days on market
96.1%
sale-to-list price
7
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lake Hamilton
16pages on Lake Hamilton
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Hamilton
Champion Christian CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Hot Springs4.9 mi$11,510 tuitionNational Park CollegeCommunity college · Public · Hot Springs6.3 mi$5,600 in-state tuitionArkansas State University Three RiversCommunity college · Public · Malvern14.9 mi$3,788 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Lake Hamilton residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
About Lake Hamilton
Census-designated place in Arkansas, United States
Lake Hamilton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Garland County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Lake Hamilton had a population of 2,084. It is named after Lake Hamilton, one of the area's man-made lakes.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 449 ft
- Area code
- 501
Lake Hamilton’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Lake Hamilton.
Hot SpringsLake Hamilton
How the neighbors grade
| Town | AR rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Hamilton | — | — | D | — | A− | C |
| Hot Springs | #90 | D | B− | D | C+ | D |
Lake Hamilton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lake Hamilton reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Lake Hamilton with a neighbor →
Questions about Lake Hamilton
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lake Hamilton, AR expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $406,000, 81% above the Arkansas typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.