Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,607, settled in 1896. A regional job hub with 3,760 jobs.
Mena gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $196K for a typical one, or 4 years of the county’s $49K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 36th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $47K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line, and its police reported 14 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 85% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, its public schools beat 88% of Arkansas towns on state tests and graduation. 46% of working residents work locally in Mena, where Arkansas’ towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 8%. On walkability, just 6 of Arkansas’ 200 towns do better. Mena has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them State Line Marker and Ebenezer Monument.
Where Mena beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Holly Harshman Elementary School | 3–5 | 438 |
| Louise Durham Elementary School | K–2 | 357 |
| Mena Middle School | 6–8 | 393 |
Census counts: 3,423 in 1900, 5,589 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Mena is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mena, 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 Mena.
Mena pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, draws workers from Fort Smith and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
3,760 jobs are based in Mena, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.8 minutes, against 22.5 across Arkansas.
The average trip to work in Mena is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Fort Smith (4%), Bentonville (2%) and Little Rock (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.
| Mena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $196K.
Its public schools are run by the Mena School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mena High School, with 503 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holly Harshman Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 438 | B+ |
| Mena High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 503 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Mena’s property crime rate is 28.2 per 1,000 residents. Mena reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 85% report less. Mena’s violent crime rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Mena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28.2 per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 3.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 4,817 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mena’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Arkansas it is less healthy than 53% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
Mena beats the Arkansas average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 43% of adults have high blood pressure in Mena.
| Mena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 34% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 25% | 19% |
| What stands out | Mena | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.8% | 14.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Mena weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 208 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 84% of Arkansas places with climate records. The Mena weather station 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.
Mena has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 29° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Mena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Janssen Park | 0.4 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Only 6 of the 122 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower median rent than Mena. The typical Mena home is worth about $196,000, up 3.4% in a year, 13% below the Arkansas typical home.
| Mena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $639 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 60% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Children under 18 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). 19% of Mena adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Mena | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 25% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.7 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 19% | 20% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Mena | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.6% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.2% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.2% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.6% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38.7% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.1% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.2% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.5% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 4% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mena.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mena
About 2 of every 100 Mena residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
Where Mena’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Mena on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Mena.
City in Arkansas, United States
Mena ( MEE-nə) is a city in and the county seat of Polk County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5,589 as of the 2020 census. Mena is located in the U.S. Interior Highlands. Surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest, Mena is a gateway to some of the most visited tourist attractions in Arkansas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mena grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #36 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Arkansas, it does better than 38% of towns.
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 A.
9 notable people were born here, including T. Texas Tyler and Herbert A. Littleton.
