Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,184, settled in 1881.
Lowell gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $353K, 4.3 years of the Fayetteville metro’s $82K median household income. It grades A overall, 8th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns. On the plus side, the median household earns $96K. On hazard risk, just 10 of Arkansas’ 201 towns do better. Lowell has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Springfield to Fayetteville Road-Cross Hollow Segment and Pinkston-Mays Store Building (Additional Documentation). On health, just 12 of Arkansas’ 201 towns do better.
Where Lowell beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Elza R. Tucker Elementary School | PK–5 | 626 |
| Lowell Elementary School | PK–5 | 451 |
7,327 counted in 2010 and 9,839 in 2020; an estimated 12,184 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 23.5% since 2020, after 34.3% 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 Lowell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 193 in 1910, 9,839 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1899 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lowell, 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 Lowell.
Lowell pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, fares better on crime within Arkansas than nationally and carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Arkansas (mostly inland flooding).
13,541 jobs are based in Lowell, 2.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 8,794 in 2013 to 13,541.
Most working residents leave Lowell for work: only 9% work in town. 6.9% of Lowell residents live below the poverty line, below both the Arkansas town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Since 2013, Lowell has added 4,747 jobs, to 13,541 in 2023.
| Lowell | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 16% | 6.1% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.9% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.2% | 22% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $353K.
Its public schools are run by the Rogers School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elza R. Tucker Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 626 | A |
| Lowell Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 451 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,642, against $1,040 across Arkansas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Lowell home is worth about $353,000, about the same as a year ago, 57% above the Arkansas typical home.
| Lowell | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 70% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,136 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Arkansas it is healthier than 92% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Arkansas is tooth loss: 10.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 18.6% statewide.
Lowell beats the Arkansas average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 29% of Lowell adults have high blood pressure, below both Arkansas’ towns (41%) and U.S. towns (35%). 12% of adults report frequent physical distress in Lowell.
| Lowell | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 41% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Lowell | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.1% | 18.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.6% | 7.7% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.8% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Bentonville 4 S weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 46 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 85% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 89°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 93% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 26.1°.
Lowell has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Lowell is 89°F. About 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Lowell | 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
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of Arkansas towns, with expected losses of about $330 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
Lowell’s FEMA risk score is 36 of 100. Since 1986, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lowell.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median household earns $95,527, against $60,773 across Arkansas, one input to its A for jobs and income.
People 65 and older are 12% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Lowell has grown 23% since 2020, to 12,184 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| Lowell | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.3 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+ | 29% | 20% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 63% are men (AR 47%). Median age: women 30.6, men 34.4.
| Lowell | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.3% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.3% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.2% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.5% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.6% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.6% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.7% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 15.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 87% of Arkansas’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Just 36 of its 6,268 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Lowell itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
1.4 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Ward Nail Park, at 34 acres.
| Lowell | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ward Nail Park | 0.1 mi | 34 |
| 2. McClure Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Lowell Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lowell. Close and well known come first.
9 mi MuseumCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art
13 mi Stadium & arenaDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
26 mi LandmarkChrist of the Ozarks
14 mi Stadium & arenaBud Walton Arena
13 mi National Military ParkPea Ridge National Military Park132K visitors a year
33 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 Lowell
About 4 of every 100 Lowell residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
Where Lowell’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Lowell on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Lowell is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located within the Ozarks, the first settlement was along Old Wire Road in the 1840s, and although destroyed during the Civil War, the community was reestablished by J. R. McClure and thrived when the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway came through the area in the 1880s. The city is a growing bedroom community within the rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas region. Lowell is the headquarters of trucking company J.B. Hunt. Lowell's population was 9,839 at the 2020 census, an increase of 34% since 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Lowell.
| Town | AR rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | #8 | A | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Rogers | #22 | B | B | C | A− | B− |
| Springdale | #61 | C | B+ | C− | B− | C− |
| Cave Springs | #5 | A | C− | A | A+ | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lowell grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #8 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and A− for schools.
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+.
