Photo: Chris Litherland · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Malvern are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 20.2%, against 16.0% across Arkansas. For jobs and income Malvern is better than 16% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (B). About one in four stay in Malvern for work; outside it, Little Rock is the main destination (13%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Malvern at work: what stands out
Malvern trades workers with the towns around it
Malvern has about as many jobs (4,037) as working residents (3,717), but they are mostly different people: 2,846 residents leave for work each day while 3,166 people come in. Only 22% of the jobs in Malvern are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Malvern’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Malvern is Little Rock, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (484) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Malvern workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Malvern’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Malvern’s grade
Job access by car holds Malvern’s grade up (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($46,250, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Malvern could be anywhere from D to B−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,846 residents head out to work, 871 work right here, and 3,166 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from Malvern
About 17% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Jobs in Malvern: what the 4,037 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Malvern, 2013 → 2023: 4,359 → 4,037. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Malvern’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the trip to work from Malvern ends
Where Malvern clocks in
13% of workers
12% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Malvern
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Malvern workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,226 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Malvern, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,368 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.4% of Malvern households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Malvern’s commuters take a bus or train.
Malvern places 2,240th of 2,507 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 332 | Pea Ridge AR | 11,233 | $96K | 3.2% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 423 | Farmington AR | 10,658 | $90K | 3.8% | 0.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 464 | Lowell AR | 12,184 | $96K | 6.9% | 1.4% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,238 | Shiloh OH | 10,526 | $46K | 24.5% | 11.4% | 2% | C− |
| 2,239 | Pottsville PA | 13,170 | $54K | 19.9% | 7.2% | 21% | C− |
| 2,240 | Malvern AR | 11,144 | $46K | 20.2% | 5.6% | 23% | C− |
| 2,241 | Beaver Falls PA | 8,832 | $50K | 20.9% | 9.5% | 12% | C− |
| 2,242 | Riverdale IL | 10,280 | $40K | 41.5% | 16.1% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Malvern, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
Malvern and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Rockport (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Malvern workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malvern | – | C− | B | 22 min | $46,250 |
| Rockport | 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Perla | under 1% | — | — | 14 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rockport and Perla: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Malvern’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Malvern: questions
What is the median household income in Malvern?
$46,250 (±$14,034) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Malvern?
20.2%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Malvern?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Malvern work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Little Rock (13%, 36 mi), Hot Springs (12%, 15 mi), Benton (3%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Malvern walkable?
Malvern is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Malvern without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Malvern, from the people who make the trip.
More of Malvern
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.