Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 1,749 jobs.
Mountain View gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $202K for a typical one, or 4.9 years of the county’s $41K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 72nd of 123 in Arkansas. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Mountain View has 15 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Stone County Courthouse and Samuel Brown House. Only 2 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower median household income than Mountain View. The biggest park or preserve is Ozark Folk Center State Park, at 76 acres.
Where Mountain View beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 99 in 1880, 2,877 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1914 and 3 maps from 1892 on.
15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Mountain View is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mountain View, 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 View.
Mountain View trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Jonesboro and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
1,749 jobs are based in Mountain View, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Mountain View’s working residents works in town. 23% of Mountain View residents live below the poverty line, above both Arkansas’ towns (17%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). The top destinations are Batesville (9%), Little Rock (4%) and Conway (4%).
| Mountain View | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 21% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Mountain View School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mountain View High School, with 337 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 497 | B− |
| Mountain View High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 337 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Against the 477 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mountain View’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. Within Arkansas it is less healthy than 70% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
49% of Mountain View adults have high blood pressure, above both the Arkansas town median (41%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 20% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mountain View. Mountain View beats the Arkansas average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14.
| Mountain View | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 41% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Mountain View | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.9% | 14.6% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.6% | 76.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.7% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1985, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mountain View.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median household earns $29,172, against $60,773 across Arkansas, one input to its C− for jobs and income.
People 65 and older are 32% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 11% of residents (22% statewide). Mountain View’s median age is 51.1 years. Mountain View has grown 2.2% since 2020, to 2,940 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Mountain View | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.1 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 16% | 20% | 29% |
61% women, 39% men
About 63 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±5.8 points). Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 91% are women (AR 51%).
| Mountain View | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.5% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 2.6% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.9% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 17.2% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.9% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 42% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 15% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 19.9% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 10.4% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.8% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
The violent crime rate in Mountain View is 3 per 1,000 residents. Within Arkansas, it does better than 53% of towns.
| Mountain View | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.8 per 1,000 residents | 13.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Mtn View weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 211 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 78% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 90°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 82% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 27.8°.
Mountain View has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Mountain View | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 30°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $203K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 26 miles.
The typical Mountain View home is worth about $203,000, up 2.5% in a year, 10% below the Arkansas typical home. 58% of Mountain View households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ozark Folk Center State Park | 0.3 mi | 76 |
| 2. Ozark-Saint Francis National Forest | — | 8 |
| 3. City Park Stone Ampitheater | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Mountain View; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Mountain View residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
Where Mountain View’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
15 places in Mountain View on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Mountain View is the largest city in and the county seat of Stone County, Arkansas, United States, located in the Ozarks. As of the 2020 census, Mountain View had a population of 2,877. The city's economy is largely based on tourism related to its title as the "Folk Music Capital of the World". The city is also known for outdoors recreation opportunities including Blanchard Springs Caverns, trout fishing on the White River and the Ozark National Forest.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mountain View grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #72 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D for health, C for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Arkansas, it does better than 53% 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 B+.
2 notable people were born here, including Dick Powell and Mays Copeland.
