Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Paragould grades D overall, 96th among Arkansas's 123 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 95% of U.S. towns, with 83 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 92% of the country. In its favor, its schools outperform 58% of the state's. 45% of working residents work locally in Paragould, against 21% in Arkansas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include George Ray's Dragstrip and St. Mary's Catholic Church. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where Paragould beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Greene County Courthouse| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Crowley's Ridge College | 189 |
Census counts: 1,666 in 1890, 29,537 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1940 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Paragould is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Paragould, 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 Paragould.
Paragould fares better on crime within Arkansas than nationally, looks healthier within Arkansas than nationally and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Arkansas.
At 63.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 82% of Arkansas’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,489 to 934 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Paragould is 27.5 per 1,000 residents. Paragould reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less. The violent crime rate in Paragould is 2.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 27.5 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
Its public schools are run by the Greene County Tech School District. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene Cty Tech Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 710 | – |
| Paragould High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 881 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Within Arkansas it is less healthy than 67% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
29% of Paragould adults have been diagnosed with depression. Paragould beats the Arkansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 36% of Paragould adults get no exercise outside work.
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Paragould | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 19.6% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 8.6% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11% | 9.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1979, 151 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Paragould.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Paragould 1s weather station records that about 52 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 79% of Arkansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 90.2°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 77% of Arkansas places with climate records; January nights average 29.1°.
Paragould has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Paragould’s July high is 90°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 90°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 29°F | 30°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 2013, Paragould has added 3,918 jobs, to 17,025 in 2023. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Paragould. The top destinations are Jonesboro (20%), Little Rock (2%) and Batesville (1%).
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 4.2% | 6.3% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Arkansas average. Paragould has grown 5.4% since 2020, to 31,135 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 16% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 16% | 20% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.2 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 25% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1 point). Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.1, men 35.6.
| Paragould | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.9% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.2% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.1% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 42.5% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.1% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 9.7% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.4% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Paragould home is worth about $195,000, up 3.2% in a year, 13% below the Arkansas typical home.
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $925 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Francis Bland Park, at 36 acres.
| Paragould | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 0.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Labor Park | 0.5 mi | 6 |
| 2. Francis Bland Park | — | 36 |
| 3. Old Courthouse Park | 0.2 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Paragould
About 3 of every 100 Paragould residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
26,113 counted in 2010 and 29,537 in 2020; an estimated 31,135 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.4% since 2020, after 13.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
13 places in Paragould on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Arkansas, United States
Paragould is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, and the 15th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas Delta. Paragould is the principal city of the Paragould, Arkansas Micropolitan Statistical Area and is also a part of the Jonesboro-Paragould Combined Statistical Area. The population of Paragould was 29,537 as of the 2020 Census, compared to 26,113 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Paragould grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #96 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades D for health, D for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
