Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mountain Home grades C− overall, 74th of 123 graded towns in Arkansas, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 80% of the state's. On the other side, the median household income is $41K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. 33% of residents are 65 or older in Mountain Home, above both Arkansas’ towns (16%) and U.S. towns (18%). Only 17 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score lower on cost of living. Mountain Home is home to Arkansas State University-Mountain Home.
Where Mountain Home beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hackler Intermediate School | 3–5 | 837 |
| Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary | 1–2 | 559 |
| Mountain Home Kindergarten | PK–K | 300 |
Census counts: 137 in 1880, 12,825 in 2020. The archive holds 27 old photos and papers going back to 1938 and 3 maps from 1966 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Mountain Home is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mountain Home, 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 Mountain Home.
Mountain Home draws workers from Gassville and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Arkansas.
Mountain Home’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Keller Park, at 73 acres. 17 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cooper Park | 1.6 mi | 44 |
| 2. Keller Park | 0.6 mi | 73 |
| 3. Hickory Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Mountain Home School District. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mountain Home Career Academies, with 1,523 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hackler Intermediate SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 837 | A− |
| Mountain Home Career AcademiesLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 1,523 | B |
| Pinkston Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–7 | Grades 6–7 | 546 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
11,776 jobs are based in Mountain Home, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.2 minutes, against 22.5 across Arkansas.
52% of Mountain Home’s working residents work right in town. The average trip to work in Mountain Home is 13 minutes. Jobs based in Mountain Home grew to 11,776 in 2023, 2,025 more than in 2013.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 2,766 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mountain Home’s, it is healthier than 70%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Arkansas it is healthier than 56% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
Mountain Home beats the Arkansas average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 47% of adults have high blood pressure in Mountain Home. Among 123 Arkansas towns, just 10 have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Mountain Home.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 41% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 78% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 19% |
| What stands out | Mountain Home | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.9% | 14.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.4% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
People 65 and older are 33% of residents (18% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 29% of residents (37% statewide). Only 6 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a higher median age than Mountain Home. Mountain Home has grown 4.3% since 2020, to 13,373 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.1 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 20% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.1 points). Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 73% are women (AR 51%).
| Mountain Home | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.2% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.7% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.3% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 19.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.3% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.5% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.2% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.3% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 4.8% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within Arkansas, it does better than 51% of towns.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 3.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Mtn Home 1 Nnw weather station records that about 44 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 89% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 89.7°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 85% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 25.9°.
Mountain Home has chilly winters and warm summers. About 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 26°F | 30°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Mountain Home home is worth about $239,000, up 1.9% in a year, 7% above the Arkansas typical home.
| Mountain Home | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $865 a month | $880 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 21 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mountain Home.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mountain Home
About 3 of every 100 Mountain Home residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
2.7% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
5 places in Mountain Home on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Mountain Home is a city in and the county seat of Baxter County, Arkansas, United States, in the southern Ozark Mountains near the northern state border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, Mountain Home had a population of 12,825. A total of 41,307 persons lived within the city and micropolitan area combined, which encompasses the majority of Baxter County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 51% of towns.
That is 4.9 years of the area's median household income ($48,452 across the Mountain Home, AR area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Carolyn D. Wright and Charles L. Gilliland.
